The Dark Knight

Have you seen the new Batman teaser? Heath Ledger plays the Joker; you get to hear his voice in the trailer. For an actual glimpse of the Joker, you need to visit the Wikipedia entry about the movie-- here.

Not having seen "Brokeback Mountain," I know Ledger primarily from the very cool "A Knight's Tale" and the not-quite-as-cool Mel Gibson vehicle, "The Patriot." Ledger's an Aussie with an ear for different accents. I have high hopes for the new Batflick, which brings back almost all the original cast (Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and director Christopher Nolan) except for Katie Holmes, who is being replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Aaron Eckhart, who was excellent in "Thank You For Smoking," will play Harvey Dent/Two-Face. I like Eckhart, but it's too bad we won't see Billy Dee Williams in the Dent role. I'm sure Eckhart will do a better job with the part than Tommy Lee Jones did with it. Jones is a fantastic actor, but he was miscast in "Batman Forever."

You do have to wonder just how many times they can rehash the Batman/Joker conflict, though. "Batman," directed by Tim Burton, came out nearly twenty years ago, but Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance as the Joker is so memorable that it still seems recent. I worry that Ledger might try to pull off a Jack Nicholson impression in this film, but I'm pretty sure this won't happen; Ledger's got acting chops of his own.

I'm also glad to see Nolan directing the sequel; Tim Burton was a little too obsessed with Peewee Herman-style gadgets for my taste, and Batman requires a more serious treatment. The upcoming film ought to be dark and nasty, the way it should be.


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