Let's put a smile on that face
"The Dark Knight" aimed to please with all-star cast and succeeded with box office highs
Narayan Lockett
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: Features
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The duly hyped film made an instant impact on the film world, setting the opening-day box-office record with revenue of $66.4 million and shattering the previous record of $59.8 million ("Spider-Man 3"), reported www.cnn.com.
Praise for "The Dark Knight" began before the film was even released. Film enthusiasts and superhero fanatics alike looked forward to a sequel Batman film after the outstanding direction Nolan took with "Begins".
Once plot lines, advertisements and trailers were released, the online hype and fan base grew to new extremes.
During promotion for "The Dark Knight," mock protesters marched through the streets of New York City, exclaiming and holding up signs saying, "I Believe in Harvey Dent!"
Harvey Dent is Gotham City's District Attorney, a supporting role played by Aaron Eckhart.
Batman as a series already established a considerable following with a slew of comic books, various television series and six notable movies prior to "The Dark Knight." It wasn't difficult to predict that Christian Bale would rack in a large profit as the new and improved "caped crusader".
"As the release of "The Dark Knight" slowly approached, I waited with great anticipation," freshman computer science major Patrick Brown said. "How could the sequel top the original? With all the hype and blockbuster cast, "The Dark Knight" was a must-see movie."
Another topic of interest was the tragic death of Heath Ledger.
"People began to wonder 'how well Heath performed as the Joker?', and 'what role could possibly have affected him so greatly?'" said Brown.
Because the Joker is Batman's arch nemesis and arguably the most enthralling scoundrel to terrorize the streets of Gotham, Ledger's portrayal had a great deal of pressure riding upon it. Not only had the Joker been previously played by acting legend Jack Nicholson, but now the role would be deemed Ledger's final performance.
Nevertheless, Ledger as the Joker lived up to the hype of the movie and honored the tragedy of his unexpected death. Some speculators say the role he played drove him to a deranged state of mind that caused his death. However, the New York City medical examiner judged his fatal accident came from an overdose of oxycodone, hydrocodone, doxylamine and a combination of other prescription pills, according to www.cinemablend.com.
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