THE DARK KNIGHT

CAROLINE: The much-anticipated “Dark Knight,” the second in the new Batman franchise, is finally in theaters.

RYAN: I think this is the most anticipated film of the summer since “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

CAROLINE: Certainly. And it’s probably the best film of the summer, though it does have problems.

RYAN: This movie is completely riddled with stars, the least of which is Anthony Michael Hall who’s apparently making a comeback with his small role as a newscaster.

CAROLINE: That was way random! I didn’t even know it was him till the second or third scene he had. I have a few beefs with this movie, but I think we should start with the positive. It’s epic in scale, it’s incredibly well done and it looks amazing. It doesn’t rely too much on special effects, which is cool for a superhero movie. There’s lots of great action which is so well done that I was agape at times.

RYAN: It’s almost a civil war movie in that it’s Gotham City at war with itself. It’s very dark and intense, lots of good vs. evil. But it’s a little long at two and a half hours.

CAROLINE: For sure. I was loving it up to a point, but then I started to flag a little. Two and a half hours is a long time for such a dark film; and by dark, I mean that literally and figuratively. The themes are really heavy, and the movie is also shot very darkly. I did pep up by the end though.

RYAN: The good news about Heath Ledger is that this really is a tour de force performance. He’s getting his due props.

CAROLINE: Believe the hype! He really is that good.

RYAN: He’s gotten such great advanced buzz, and he’s excellent; but I don’t want that to overshadow how amazing Aaron Eckhart is.

CAROLINE: I’ve loved him ever since “In the Company of Men” and I loved the special effects they did with his Two-Face character. They looked so real that I was actually dumb enough to think for a minute that they were done with really cool makeup.

RYAN: Yes, I had to explain to you that it was computer-generated effects, not just a great makeup job.

CAROLINE: The only tragic casting in the movie is Maggie Gyllenhaal. I think she’s a wonderful actress – I loved her in “Secretary” and “SherryBaby” – but she’s just not right for this role. This character needs to be a real knockout bombshell type and Maggie isn’t that. Even her voice didn’t seem right.

RYAN: She’s definitely miscast. Her character kisses both Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart, two of the hottest men in Hollywood, and I think they needed to cast a prettier girl for me to buy that both men are vying for her affection.

CAROLINE: My other beef is the PG-13 rating. There were so many great scenes that could have been taken to the next level violence-wise, but then they’d cut the scene short because of the frickin’ rating. That really bummed me out. It should have been rated R.

RYAN: I noticed that too, especially when you leaned over and whispered it in my ear. One other minor irritation for me was the voice Christian Bale used as Batman. It was so gravelly and deep. I understand that he needed to sound different than he does as Bruce Wayne, but it was a little much.

CAROLINE: That annoyed me too. I didn’t remember him doing that in the first movie, but whatever. He’s a great actor and he looks gorgeous as always, especially in a tux. He’s a total badass. There are also supporting roles from Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

RYAN: And Gary Oldman, who plays Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies. He’s excellent, though he’s showing his age a little. The music is great. Christopher Nolan, the director, really knows what he’s doing. He’s the perfect director for this movie.

CAROLINE: I do think it would have been a better film with 20 minutes shaved off. It was so beautifully done, and I’m sure Nolan felt so married to every scene that he didn’t want to cut any. But he should have because the movie starts to get a little boring.

RYAN: I wonder if the extra length is there because they didn’t want to cut any Heath Ledger scenes.

CAROLINE: I don’t think that’s it; all his scenes are amazing. There were, however, some scenes between Bruce Wayne and Alfred that I could have done without. I must say, I was pooh-poohing this whole Heath-should-get-nominated-for-an-Oscar thing as basically a response to his untimely death, but he really is amazing. He’s literally transformed in this role. If you didn’t know it was Heath Ledger, you wouldn’t know it was him.

RYAN: I loved how his hair got greener throughout the film, which is a subtle nod to the comic. But because this movie version is a lot less comical and more realistic, they didn’t give him outright green hair but just a tinge of green. Loved it!

— BOTTOM LINE —

CAROLINE: I think this is the movie to see for the rest of the summer. It’s epic. I had my doubts, but it really is an Oscar-caliber film in many ways. I personally found it too long and I thought it dragged, but I’m sure to be in the minority on that point. I’m not a huge comic book/superhero fan, but for those who are, they will love this movie.

RYAN: I totally got absorbed into this movie. You really feel like you’re in Gotham, and you forget about your own life. Escapism is one of my favorite parts of going to the movies. I’m sure everyone’s going to run out and see it and love it!

— RATING —