Don't believe everything the critics say...not all critics speak for me...hell, some like Ebert don't even speak at all! Before last night's opening, this movie was already a hit, mostly in thanks to Heath Ledger. Now, I'm not familiar with all of his work prior to this movie, but I will say this: Heath Ledger was a troubled soul and yes, perhaps a brilliant actor. The young actor's method was classic "old school". Give the guy a script and he'd study, and study, and study day and night. He'd do research nonstop and "live" the character throughout the film's completion on and off camera. If the character he portrayed was a dope addict, Heath would walk around for several months experiencing all the highs and lows of drugs for himself. Such was the case with his final role as "The Joker". Caesar Romero portrayed "The Joker" as did Jack Nicholson. Nickleson, by the way, wasn't too impressed with what he saw Ledger bring to this role. It's dark, disturbing, and chemically imbalanced and many say this is the role that Ledger took too far. Watching some of Ledger's work on film is like watching a person's desperate plea for help. That's why enough is enough. Time to put this story to rest. True, the blurry line between cinematic roles and real life are what define brilliant acting, but this was more like a suicide note left behind. Can't wait to see "The Dark Knight"? Don't have the tickets yet? There's a two week wait! You're S.O.L.! And you thought the economy was in bad shape! People are bitching about $5.00 for a tank of gas but yet, the tickets sell like hotcakes. The bottom line is that taking the family to the movies is getting as expensive as a week's vacation at Disney World in 1970. All the frenzy as folks camped out for days to get their mitts on tix... crazy ain't it? Well, the critics say this movie is now the benchmark of modern cinema and moviegoers from last night agree. As one person said upon leaving the theater at 3 A.M., "It's like The Godfather Trilogy, The Star Wars Trilogy and Indiana Jones to the tenth power!" Wow! This IS only a movie isn't it? I don't think it's worth all the hype and to be honest, is quite ridiculous to compare a big clump of films to this. Movies are missing one thing that they can't get back... that is, longevity. Like all the movies this guy mentioned, there was a time where a dilm had a long shelf life and would sit in a theater (or two or three) for six months. Not anymore. You'll see this movie on Blu-Ray and DVD just in time for Christmas if not sooner. Keep in mind when you take the kids to see this that Heath Ledger left the iconic "Batman" series a mess. Where can it go from here? Oh yeah, who's the dope that settled on a "PG-13" rating for this?
