The Dark Knight

With a running time of 150 minutes and all the hype, the mind does wonder what's in store for viewers of the heavily anticipated followup to Batman Begins, and I will wholeheartedly say that the screenplay for The Dark Knight is both lengthy and robust, and yet I have no idea what I'd cut out of it because it introduces us to the new characters like the Joker and Harvey Dent and other mobster characters (and re-connects us with the familiar cast from Begins), sets up their situations as the escalation from Batman's actions on the criminal element in Gotham over the past year has produced unforseen responses and reactions, and quietly builds up steam with plenty of twists and turns based on character actions, motivations, and resolve.

The film does have this authentic "real world" grounded feel where it feels like it is possible for such fantastical characters such as Batman and Joker to actually exist and produce such an unrelenting storyline in this film. No doubt director Nolan was riffing on a Michael Mann vibe for setting up the action and plot points that ratchets up the tension and drama as stakes are raised more and more for the major players in the film.

The cast is uniformily up to the challenge as called for by the story, no weak spots for me (unlike performances like Katie Holmes that stick out in the first installment where she didn't have enough game for the script, Maggie Gyllenhaal delivered a more believable character in Rachel Dawes given what she was called upon to do), and it's truly an ensemble piece of acting for such a sprawling storyline that demanded solid performances and also allowed the principal actors their moments to shine and deliver within the framework of the film.

I think going from Batman Begins, where we get a whole lot of Bruce Wayne characterizations to The Dark Knight where it moves beyond that limited scope and treats Bruce/Batman was one of the major players, but not solely the focus of the story, which gives it more layered intersecting storylines amongst all the main characters. I will admit that I might have a small quibble with how the film finally concludes, but again, I will own up to some personal viewing fatigue which was coming from seeing a midnight showing, and I still don't know how I'd re-work the ending to trim it up, so I'm not going to be too hard on it, and I'll be curious to see how the ending plays for me on subsequent viewings at saner times of the day .

Overall, an entertaining and involving film, I give it 3.75 stars, or a grade of A- (which might be bumped up on a subsequent viewing on Imax on Saturday).

** I'm bumping up my rating to 4 stars, a grade of A after seeing it for a second time, and on IMAX. **