me n my thoughts

You can read this review in the new issue of Southern Exposure Magazine:

Comic book movies have been on a roller-coaster for the last ten years. “X-Men” was just ok, “X2” was good, “X-Men: The Last Stand” was forgettable. “Spider-Man” was decent, “Spider-Man 2” was fantastic, “Spider-Man 3” was average. “Superman Returns” was visually stimulating but narratively crippled. “Hulk” was better than people gave it credit for (haven’t seen the new one), “Hellboy” was great, “Hellboy II” was fun but not as good as the first, “300” was a two-hour music video, “Iron Man” was wonderful, “V For Vendetta” was better than expected, “Sin City” was nice to look at but gave me a stomach ache, and I hear “Daredevil”, “Fantastic Four”, “Catwoman”, and “The Punisher” aren’t worth my time.

So what about “Batman Begins”? Well, if you ask me, I think it’s towards the top of the list, easily one of the best comic book movies of all time. Director Christopher Nolan took a campy concept and turned it into an epic gothic drama that made you believe a grown man might just put on tights and fight crime (given the appropriate motivation).

But now “The Dark Knight” comes along and not only surpasses the first film, but manages to rise above every other comic book movie I can think of. I’ve been racking my brain and I just can’t come up with another that compares in terms of action, characters, narrative structure, and expectations. This is a truly satisfying movie.

Be warned though; the title is appropriate. This is one dark affair. Heath Ledger’s Joker is one of the most frightening movie villains in quite some time and Harvey Dent’s transformation into Two-Face is quite disturbing as well (just because Wal Mart carries Batman action figures doesn’t mean you should take your kids to this one). But for fans of the first film, you certainly won’t be disappointed here.

As I mentioned, Ledger (who is a shoe-in for a posthumous Oscar) is truly chilling. Forget the Joker you know, the one who wants to take over the world. Ledger’s Joker just wants to watch the world burn. A genuine anarchist, this skinny freak creates chaos not in the name of a particular creed, but for the sake of chaos itself. From the first scene, we know the clown in the purple suit isn’t one to mess with. And he proves to be a bona fide threat to Christian Bale’s Batman, who has been shunned by the city he strives to protect.

Unlike many films in the genre, “The Dark Knight” manages to dig deep into the human condition, dealing with authentic emotions such as loneliness and despair, and conflicting ideologies such as choice vs. chance and chaos vs. order. Like the first film, “The Dark Knight” makes it clear that it is our choices that define us.

This isn’t the best comic book movie of the year. “The Dark Knight” just swept away the competition to become the best comic book movie of all time.