Getting Ready for the Dark Knight

As I type this, I'm about twelve hours away seeing what I think is probably the most anticipated movie of the year: the Batman sequel, "The Dark Knight."

I can't remember at all any movie with this much hype, buzz and attention as this movie has garnered over the past several months. Of course this all started with the great and well recieved attention "Batman Begins" movie that started it all back in 2005. Then came word on who will play opposite Christian Bale's Caped Crusader as the Joker. Heath Ledger would be taking on the role and I can remember a lot of my friends, myself included, were skeptical that he would take on such an iconic role.

That is, until we saw a glimpse of what his portrayal was going to be about when the first full trailer came out late last year. What he showed in that few moments gave us an indication that he was going to be very good and the hype intensified.

Unfortunately, all the positive vibes we had about this movie would be replaced by profound sadness when we learned in late January that Ledger had died due to an accidental drug overdose. I remember being hit in the gut when I first heard the news and a lot of my online friends shared the grief with me as we chatted about it later that day.

As time wore on, and we got closer to the film's release, we soon realized that director Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. would honor Ledger's memory by keeping his performance intact in the film. And soon word got out that Ledger's work in this would be enough to not only earn him an Oscar nomination, but possibly win it as well.

Between that and the viral online promotions and the ads and posters and various other entities associated with this movie, everyone I know from friends at work to my online buds can not wait to see this film. Some plan to see it at midnight late Thursday night. And I have done something I rarely do: I ordered my tickets online way in advance so I can be there for this.

Which brings us to today, the day the film opens across the country.

At about 7:35pm, I'll be seated in a theater, emersing myself in the goodness that is TDK. And from the glowing reviews to the record number of theatres (both regular and IMAX) that plan to show it, every intention is that "The Dark Knight" will not only break box office records, but shatter them. Many even think this might wind up being the highest grossing film ever.

High praise indeed, but from what I've read and seen, they just might be right.

About three years ago, just as I was about to see Batman Begins, I posed a question here in this blog:

Will It Suck?

It was a valid question, considering that at the time, the film franchise for Batman was on life support.

Turns out it didn't, and was one of the best film adaptations of Batman that I've seen.

Now, I'm just hours away from finding out if the sequel can even surpass that.

Will it?



I'll let you know later on tonight.