The Dark Knight

Two of the most hyped films in recent times have started in consecutive weeks. Last week it was Mamma Mia and this week it is The Dark Knight.

As most of the world will know The Dark Knight is the last film Heath Ledger completed and there has been much talk in Australia about posthumous Academy Award recognition for him.

In my view the film is an example of style winning over substance. It is a very stylish looking film but I am hard pressed to explain the storyline. In essence I don't think that there is much of a storyline but I can't be certain. The cast is studded with softly spoken actors delivering their lines in almost a whisper at times against a background of ominous music building to repeated crescendos. As a consequence I rarely understood the dialogue nor who was doing what to whom.

As you'd expect the film was packed with impressive effects although one scene of a helicopter crashing looked a bit clunky. The most interesting scene for me was of two booby trapped ferries on the harbour with their passengers battling the moral dilemma of which of them should be blown up. Other than that, the storyline seemed too slight to me to justify a film of such great length.

As for Heath Ledger he does a good job in a showy role but I would reserve judgement about crowning him with awards until I see what the likely competition is.

Word of mouth is obviously working very well for this film. Our 2.10pm session at Bondi Junction was sold out and on leaving the cinema at 5pm I noticed the display board indicated all six remaining sessions today were sold out too.