The Dark Knight has passed Shrek 2 and claimed the coveted of 3rd highest grossing film of all time. If it does another 40 million weekend like it has constantly been doing, it will easily de-throne Star Wars as the #2 Film ever! Lets take a look at why this movie has broken all these records.

Ok I am going to open myself up to a ton of hate with this one. But its needed. So go open your email and type in James@sparkboxshow.com. That way you will be ready to try and rip me apart. Now with that out of the way…

Dark Knight would have never broken the opening weekend records if Heath Ledger were still here. The reason it got so much publicity and hype was because of his death. People needed to see his final performance and got caught up in all the media hype. Was it an amazing movie? Yes it was, did the cast do an amazing job? Hell yeah. Was Ledger great as Joker? Very much so. B U T…. I’m sure if he didnt take the role, someone else could have easily done it just as well. People forget the behind the scenes people who make these movies happen. In this case, the script writers. What makes the Joker such a memorable character? Its ok, take a moment and think about it, really think about it. Let me see if I can read your minds and tell you what the first 3 things that come up are. #1 The Jokers attitude about things. #2 His speeches about different aspects of society (especially the hospital scene). #3 His cunning in planning his traps.

So did I get them? Im pretty sure I got at least 2 if not all of them. Lets take it for granted that I did get them all. And let me explain them. #1 The Jokers attitude. Thats all the script writers and directors doing. Sure Heath put on a great performance with the material he was given. BUT you need to remember he was given that material. He didnt think it up! #2 His speeches throughout the film. Yet again the scriptwriters are to be given credit here. Heath delivered it, but again, he didnt think of it himself. And #3, HIs traps. HELLO?!?!?!? Thats the script writers and directors doing.

So you see, all of the reasons that people thought that Heath was amazing were not his doing. He brought the character to the big screen, but he did not make the character. He did a great job with what he was given. Though thats the point, he was given the material to do it. Did I think he was a great Joker? Yes I did. Was the hype all it was cracked up to be? Yes and No. My problem was that people didnt rush out to see it because it was a new Batman movie. They went to see it because of the media hype behind Ledgers death. If he didnt die, the movie would have never come close to the opening weekend records it set, and it certainly wouldnt still be making as much as it is.

And because of all this, the rest of the cast was very much overlooked. Bale did amazing work. Even though this was not a true Batman movie since Batman himself wasnt the main character. He was there to keep the story together and keep things moving. Aaron Eckhart was brilliant as Two-Face. The transition from Harvey to Two-face was perfect and you felt the hate and pain in his voice. Yes this goes back to my original thing of the writers giving the materials. But he did a great job and shouldnt be overlooked. Maggie Gyllenhall was pretty good as a secondary character. Hell she was a lot better then the nutjob that played her in the last movie. Gary Oldman…. Well hell, he can pull off any character he plays. This man cant have a bad performance.

Did I like the movie? Very much so, it was an insane ride from begining to end. Did it live up to the hype? Yes and no. You have to see it from my perspective. I run a theatre, which means I see movies an insane amount of times. And in doing so, I am able to pick out the good and bad very quickly. Ill put it this way, when I first saw the movie, I had a smile on the entire time. But as I watched it a few other times and saw parts many many times, I started to go deeper into the movie and my opinons changed. Great movie, but the hype around Ledgers death was what threw it into the top 3 highest grossing films of all times. Not the fact it was Batman, or that the joker was in it, or that it was actually a great movie. The media loves a tragedy and the fact they can spin it so we will love it too. And thats what happened here.

Rememeber people, the above are MY OPINONS. I am entitled to them. I just ask that before you jump down my throat like I know most of you will; take a few after reading and think about what i wrote. Think about my reasons for thinking the way I do. If you still want to write me and tell me I am an a$$hole after that. Then go for it.