Batman faces demented foe in 'Dark Knight'

Gotham City has turned into a rebellious 15-year-old who just cannot seem to stay out of trouble and attracts random whackjobs. Batman's seemingly never-ending stream of criminals was augmented this weekend with the release of his battle against "the Joker" and a good guy turned bad that we all know and love as "Two-Face."

"The Dark Knight" opened nationwide at 12:01 a.m. Friday to vast audiences. Throughout the weekend audiences lined up in theatres to see their favorite caped crusader battle the evil Joker.

The midnight showings alone raked in a record $18.5 million. The opening day showings earned $66.4 in ticket sales, beating out "Spider-Man 3's" previous record of $59.8 million on opening day.

The movie also premiered at 94 IMAX theatres nationwide, including the CineMagic Metropolitan in St. Michael and the Great Clips IMAX at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley. Despite the $12 ticket prices and the drive to get to an IMAX theatre, the experience is phenomenal - there's nothing like seeing a gigantic car crash or fight scene on a 72.6 by 52.8 foot screen.

From the beginning scenes of the movie the audience was enveloped in Gotham City, flitting between tension and hilarity. During the first scene of the movie, the Joker and his cohorts rob a bank, killing each other off as they finished their duties (to more lucratively divide the spoils, of course).

Anxiety mounts as the Joker leaves what looks like a grenade in the mouth of a bank employee and takes the fuse of it inside the getaway school bus with him, driving off and pulling the cord on the grenade. Instead of being showered with blood and guts within the first 15 minutes of the movie, grey smoke billows out of the employee's mouth - Why so serious?

The movie centers on Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) indecision surrounding whether or not to remain Batman and protect the city, or give up his alter ego to get his childhood crush, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who had recently been proposed to by the Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

As with 2005's "Batman Begins," the murderous rampages lead to an evacuation of Gotham City, and Wayne tries to balance his life as a crimefighter with his life as a billionaire playboy, complete with beautiful women and playing host to a fundraiser early in the movie.

Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) finally gets his promotion to commissioner when the Joker puts what seems to be acid into the former commissioner's secret alcohol stash.

From taking down an airplane and blowing up armored cars, the Joker brings forth destruction and mayhem in the heart of Gotham City, enough so that anyone who sees the movie will find their fill of fire and metal-on-metal crunches.

The Batmobile finally shows some wear in "The Dark Knight" - more appropriately, Wayne finally totals the Batmobile. However, resilient as it is, it turns into a glorified motorcycle complete with guns attached around the front wheels.

While the action of the movie is a major draw for most people, there has been speculation for weeks on Heath Ledger's last performance as The Joker.

Ledger's performance was, simply put, astounding. The Joker was hilarious and haunting, silly and sinister. The smeared red lipstick and cracked white makeup coupled with his almost green hair gave off the feel of a man truly on the edge - a psychopath in the real sense of the word.

At one point during the movie, the Joker declares, "I'm a dog chasing cars. I don't have plans. I just do things. I'm not a schemer." The line, innocent as it may seem, shows the true insanity behind the Joker's makeup - the Joker is not just a bad guy. He's not just someone who uses a twisted set of morals or revenge to justify killing.

The Joker kills to upset order. He kills indiscriminately, unjustified and unprovoked. He has no plans, no trigger, which makes him a truly terrifying character - a far cry from the Jack Nicholson portrayal in Tim Burton's 1989 version of "Batman."

Ledger pulled off the character flawlessly and effortlessly, from punctuating his lines with random mouth twitches and lip smacking to his well-planned words and maniacal laughter.

Ledger brought an intense depth to the Joker character. As much as the audience wants to hate the Joker, a bizarre sense of sympathy for him is built throughout the movie. Ledger's portrayal has as many different facets to it as the Joker has stories about the origins of his mysterious scars.

"The Dark Knight" was a 150-minute thrill ride full of car chases, demented murderers, and our favorite superhero knocking out the bad guys.

While he'll never get the girl, we can certainly look forward to a next movie, as "The Dark Knight" leaves off with the Gotham Police Department chasing Batman. Now the bad guy, it will be interesting to see who he decides to beat up on next.