I saw the Dark Knight the other day with Een. I only knew a little about it going in, the obvious things, but I hadn't really seen much about it, just because I live in my own danged world and not much gets in. I was aware there was a lot of hype surrounding it.

Hype's one of those things we're used to now. Between the Wachowski brothers and George Lucas everyone's a bit deadened towards it, distrustful of the million dollar marketing campaigns. But here, in the Dark Knight, is a movie that is everything it's been said to be. Heath Ledger's Joker is going to define the character in the comics for at least the next decade. The story is getting some criticism for being overly long with too many segues and false endings, but I think everything that's there is needed. Without the last half hour the Harvey Dent arc would have been meaningless. Without the trip to Hong Kong there would have been layers missing from the Joker's motives. It all fits together.

And I loved the dialogue. There's some bits that are flat, particularly where Alfred talks about how such and such needs this and that, that sounded out of place in a movie that holds so little back. But this is the first time I can remember seeing real irony in a 'big budget summer blockbuster'.

So yeah, to repeat what absolutely every danged sensible person who's seen it is saying right now, the Dark Knight is fucken awesome and go see it.