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I just got back from seeing TDK in IMAX. First of all, I made the mistake of sitting in the front row. MY EYES! But that was my choice and I must live it. Much like the characters in TDK must live with the choices they made.

I don't mean this in a dissenting fashion, but this is not a fun movie. There were fun moments to be sure, but this movie beats you down, just like the Joker beats Batman and Gotham City down. It's brutal. Spider-man this is not. Hell, Batman Begins it is not! This movie is less a comic book superhero romp than a treatise on the moral and ethical choices we make, the consequences of such choices, and how far we're willing to go to make the world safe. The Joker is all about pushing people's buttons to the point where he gets to what's really underneath. When you take away all of our safety nets and comfort zones, who are we really? What are we willing to do to grab that back? Who is the real monster here? In the face of adversity, what are we really prepared to do and can we live with ourselves afterwards? If we step over the line, can we live with the consequences? Can we live with them if we don't? The Joker rains chaos upon Gotham, burning it into the ground figuratively speaking. The city is a shambles by the end of this movie and the characters left witness to it probably wish they hadn't been.

I actually teared up at the end because of the choice Batman had to make. It's an awful choice, but one he had to burden himself with for the good of Gotham. I honestly don't know where the franchise can go from here. It's not just a matter of thinking up which villain they'll showcase. Things are left such a mess at the end TDK that I can't fathom how they'll ever be put straight again. Some people have compared this to The Empire Strikes Back. That movie had a glimmer of hope at the end. This movie does not. I can't imagine anyone walking out of this movie feeling good. Was it Moriarty that suggested this movie could have been titled Batman Fails? He's right. And that's precisely what happens. The movie plays with the idea that false hope is better than no hope at all. That's not exactly the feel good message of the year, you know?

Again, I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from seeing this movie. It's a great film. I just want people to know what to expect. As I sat in the theater at the end of the movie, I was sullen. This movie did not end happily or hopefully. It's mean. It's Batman against the world, or at least that's what it feels like. I get what he's fighting for, but at the same time, if I were in his shoes, would I accept the burden? Or would I give up? It would be so easy to give up and let the decay wash over you, but Batman believes so clearly in a better day for Gotham that he's willing to sacrifice himself for the cause. This movie isn't suitable for children and I can't imagine any children actually having fun watching it. The movie deals with themes and philosophies and brutality that would be completely over their heads. The Burton Batman films are more suitable for them. When they get into their teens, then maybe they can understand and appreciate what's going on here. This movie is stripped of any comic book accoutrements present in the first film and certainly any comic book superhero film to date. The stage is stripped down to the gritty reality of our society, making the destruction of the social fabric of Gotham all the more frightening.

The performances were all wonderful. I don't know about any Academy Award nominations for Ledger. Even if he gets one, I doubt he'd win. Ultimately, it's still the Joker. Gandalf and Jack Sparrow didn't win, so neither will the Joker. But that's neither here nor there. Heath Ledger wasn't in this movie. At least, I never saw him. The Joker was all over this film and his presence permeated scenes he wasn't even in. I liked Jack Nicholson's Joker, but that was a Joker for a different world. A comic book world. Heath Ledger gave us a Joker for our world and it's scary indeed. Aaron Eckhart was also great as Harvey Dent. I wish a little more time was spent on him towards the end, a little more care spent with his transformation from White Knight to raging vigilante. But a small quibble. Christian Bale didn't really have anything showy to do in this movie, but he's the glue that held it all together. Without his calm center, this movie would have blown apart easily. Gary Oldman brought nuances and earnestness to the role of Jim Gordon that I wish were present in other incarnations of the character. His Gordon isn't afraid to take a stand, whether it be against corruption, criminals, or Batman himself.

The cinematography in IMAX was a wonder to behold. Everytime the screen opened up the audience gasped. It filled my entire range of vision and I felt fully encompassed by the world Nolan was presenting. Batman's aerial acrobatics rocked in IMAX and I'm sure I'll be let down when I see them in normal resolution. The VFX were never noticed save for some Two Face stuff. Speaking of which, I felt the look of Two Face was a bit exaggerated and leaned towards unbelievable. The one element of the film that pulled me out of the reality Nolan worked so hard to establish. Again, quibble. It didn't lessen my enjoyment of the film in the least. The action scenes were good. I particularly liked the truck chase in the middle of the film, especially some work with the Bat Pod. The climax of the film wasn't an action set piece but an ethical one. Really, anyone going into this movie looking for great action sequences will probably be disappointed. There was plenty of action and some of it was cheer worthy, but what sells it is the verisimilitude Nolan exercises in the composition of them. You're wowed because it looks and feels real.

When the title The Dark Knight flashed across the screen at the end of the film, I realized what it meant. It's not simply a throwaway title from the Batman line of comic books. It actually holds thematic resonance with what transpired in the film and that floored me. Just reading those three simple words on the screen had such an effect on me. It was the perfect end note for the film and I sat there for minutes afterwards just contemplating what those words meant and the hows and whys of the way the film unfolded. I felt bad for Batman and as great as I felt the movie was, I wasn't instantly anticipating a sequel because what would it bring? I'm afraid to find out.

The genius of this film is that it took two popular characters in the Batman mythos and redefined them for a generation. This is the benchmark all future interpretations of the Joker and Harvey Dent will be judged against. This movie broke all bounderies of superhero convention. It defied all the rules and presented us with something that stands apart from everything that's come before. There are other superhero movies that are more fun, more exhilarating, more of a visual feast. But none have ever (and I wager will ever) come close to delving the depths of our social fabric the way this film has. My two favorite films of this summer--nay, the year--both deal with the same thing (though in much different ways): the human condition. WALL•E was a cautionary tale that ended hopefully and happily. The Dark Knight is all about the examination of the self and shows us that deep down, we may not like what we see. But one day--through the efforts of a lone vigilante willing to take on our burdens and give us hope--maybe we won't have to.

9/10