'Dark Knight's' Record Gets Serious

Amber Rowe
Arts & Entertainment Editor
  

   “Why so serious?” This is just one of many quotes made by the villainous joker in Warner Brother’s “The Dark Knight.”

   The movie ranks at No.1 of all box office winners. Its predecessors include "Star Wars" at No. 2 with 500 million and Titanic at No.1 with 601 million. Whether or not people were die hard fans of the nostalgic comic book hero who originated in 1939 or could not miss Heath Andrew Ledgers last role, people packed the Hollywood Cinema on Aug. 18 in Monticello on the movie's opening night.

Click here for the original movie poster above and more information on "The Dark Knight."

   In January, Hollywood said farewell to Ledger who portrays Joker. However, it is predicted he may be up for an Oscar. If Ledger does win a posthumous Oscar, he will become the first performer since Peter Finch in 1976’s movie Network, to receive one.

   “I think the Joker and Two-Face make this movie what it is, in my opinion it is one of the best movies of the year. It reminds me of a neo-noir film, everything is inspired by real-life events, the Joker is a complete force of nature and he is a true antithesis of Batman,” Kevin Trotter, a sophomore English/journalism double major, said.

   It appears that Jack Nicholson did meet his match. From the first five minutes into the movie, you see that Joker's cruelness has no boundaries, however, his dry sarcasm is what makes the movie worth the 3 hour time slot. Clearly, Ledger poured his heart, soul and comic ability into
this role.

  In many opinions, Ledgers early death is the reasoning behind Dark Knight’s success. With 10 awards, 25 nominations and two Oscars under his belt, Ledger did have an extensive career. Aside from Ledger, the movie contained several other A-listers as well, such as Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Christian Bale as the fourth batman.

   This movie tends to keep you on edge because you never know where the Joker will appear next and there are two scenes in particular that what you least expect happens. In one scene, Joker compares himself to a dog chasing a car, stating that he would not know what to do with one if he were to catch it.

  Aside from the mediocre fight scenes, which had some bad choreography, the movie is a hit and will go down in history as Ledger's most prominent role and, sadly, his last.

   According to one radio station, there is already talk of a sequel to the "Dark Knight" starring Johnny Depp as the Riddler and the 1970’s singer Cher as Catwoman. How the turn out will be is unknown but details are still pending.

   For more information on Heath Ledger, go to www.heathbaby.com. For more information on "The Dark Knight"  visit http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com.

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