The Dark Knight, round 1.

"Having memorably explored the Caped Crusader's origins in Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan puts all of Gotham City under a microscope in The Dark Knight, the enthralling second installment of his bold, bracing and altogether heroic reinvention of the iconic franchise," writes Justin Chang in Variety. "An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment that satisfies every expectation raised by its hit predecessor and then some."

"The Dark Knight is pure adrenaline," announces the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt. Nolan "puts the Caped Crusader through a decathlon of explosions, vehicle flips, hand-to-hand combat, midair rescues and pulse-pounding suspense.... Not that the story with its double crosses and ingenious plans isn't clear, but to enjoy the full glory of these urban battlefield strategies, multiple viewings are required."

Updated through 7/12.

"In many ways, this movie functions as a western," notes Variety's Anne Thompson, "with an honorable sheriff (Gary Oldman's lovable police detective Gordon), a nasty outlaw (Heath Ledger's extraordinary, anarchistic Joker), a lone gunman hero operating outside the law (Christian Bale's Batman) with loyal veteran sidekick (Michael Caine as Alfred), and the lovely lass that the outsider cannot have (Rachel Dawes, the delightful and wily Maggie Gyllenhaal). And then - here's where the movie starts to go off the tracks - we have Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent, the too-virtuous-to-be-true DA who is in love with Gyllenhaal, thus forming a love triangle, as well as another Batman accomplice, inventor Lucius Fox (read James Bond's Q), played by the over-exposed Morgan Freeman. Then add a bunch of mafia guys led by deliciously wicked Eric Roberts.... After twists and turns aplenty, some more satisfying than others, the movie comes to a gratifying conclusion (setting up the next sequel)." A Q&A with Nolan on "the challenge of topping Batman Begins" follows.

Geoff Boucher has a long profile of Nolan for the Los Angeles Times.

Gill Pringle talks with Bale for the Independent.

Update, 7/8: "It's very solid, occasionally reaching the point of being fantastically gripping, but I don't see the masterpiece that all the viral brainwashing has lead everyone to expect," blogs Eric Kohn. "Trust me, though: See it in IMAX."

Updates, 7/9: "What Nolan is clearly reaching for is a Godfather-esque effort," writes David Poland. "You can feel all the corrections of his first film... all the improvements by spending more freely... all the 'stuff we would have done differently.' And almost all of them are, indeed, improvements."

On July 18, screenings will go on all night long in some cities, reports Michael Cieply in the New York Times.

Updates, 7/10: "It's been one of the best summers in memory for flat-out blockbuster entertainment, and in the wow category, the Nolan film doesn't disappoint," writes Richard Corliss for Time. "But Nolan has a more subversive agenda. He wants viewers to stick their hands down the rat hole of evil and see if they get bitten. With little humor to break the tension, The Dark Knight is beyond dark. It's as black - and teeming and toxic - as the mind of the Joker. Batman Begins, the 2005 film that launched Nolan's series, was a mere five-finger exercise. This is the full symphony."

The Visitor at Twitch: "Here's the truth: The Dark Knight belongs to Heath Ledger.... Ledger truly lives the character on screen, from that strange gait to the ticks and quirks, smacking his lips after every sentence. His Joker is at once funny, amusing, repulsive and terrifying, a true favourite son of Arkham Asylum. It's really a brilliant, ingenious take on the character and a great final performance by the late actor."

Updates, 7/11: John Hiscock talks with Nolan and Bale about Ledger for the Telegraph.

"Could Darren Aronofsky's Batman have eclipsed Christopher Nolan's?" asks Alex Larman at the Guardian.

Update, 7/12: In the New York Times, Pam Belluck reports on Senator Patrick Leahy's cameo. And via Movie City News, the clip.

Posted by dwhudson at July 7, 2008 6:50 AM