Another day, another glowingly positive review for The Dark Knight. Last night in LA, select film sites were screened The Dark Knight. Director Kevin Smith was invited to the screening and came away from the experience completely blown away, calling it “an epic film”, “the ‘Godfather II’ of comic book movies” and “close to a masterpiece” . Continue reading for Smith’s brief spoiler free review.
Straight from Smith’s MySpace blog:
“Without giving anything away, this is an epic film (and trust me: based on the sheer size and scope of the visuals and storytelling, that’s not an overstatement). It’s the “Godfather II” of comic book films and three times more earnest than “Batman Begins” (and fuck, was that an earnest film). Easily the most adult comic book film ever made. Heath Ledger didn’t so much give a performance as he disappeared completely into the role; I know I’m not the first to suggest this, but he’ll likely get at least an Oscar nod (if not the win) for Best Supporting Actor. Fucking flick’s nearly three hours long and only leaves you wanting more (in a great way). I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed by it. Nolan and crew have created something close to a masterpiece.”
Wow. Unfortunately, the most disappointing aspect of this all continues to be the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger. As the release nears, I can’t help but dwell on the fact that we’ll never be able to see his portrayal of the Joker on the screen again, which looks to be absolutely amazing.
Moving on to other ‘Dark Knight’ news, Movie Web, who was at the screening, got a chance to chat with Gary Oldman (Lt. Gordon) and the actor was asked about his thoughts about replacing Heath Ledger in any future Batman films should the character continue to be the villiain, or if not, who would be the next villain, to which he responded with the following:
“I don’t see why not. I mean, they did it with Katie Holmes’ character. I understand that this is a different circumstance, but I think another actor could do the job. I think Heath would want another actor to do the job.” Oldman then took a moment to think about it some more, “Maybe we don’t need the Joker. Because we’ll have The Riddler.”
Oops. Not so sure that Katie Holmes analogy works out though. Oldman was also asked if Christoper Nolan would return:
“We don’t really know if Nolan is coming back. …I guess I have to come back. …Nolan will come back for a third one. I think we all have to.”
Looks like the cast may be locked up for three years (common practice for franchises). So, if The Riddler becomes a villian for the next installment, which actor would you have in mind to play the role?
The Dark Knight hits theaters on July 18, 2008.
