The Dark Knight

This is the movie that started it all. I remember the stinger ending for Batman Begins, with Jim Gordon holding a Joker card. I got really excited. I thought wow, how are they going to make The Joker fit into this gritty, realistic world? I couldn't wait! 3 years later, I was in a movie theater, waiting for the movie to start, the reviews were amazing, and the mysticism surrounding Heath Ledger's performance was buzzing. But first a teaser played, I understood nothing about it, who was that guy with the shifting mask and trenchcoat? Who was that blue naked guy? What do you mean "the most celebrated graphic novel of all time"? What even is a graphic novel? I was intrigued, but that wasn't what I was there for. I was there for Batman and Joker. And as the movie started, I was entranced. This was amazing. Joker stole the show, Heath's portrayal became one of my favorites in the history of film. But most of all I was introduced to the meta aspect in a narrative. Of course the foil to justice and order was chaos. Of course Joker had to be unpredictable and scary. It just made sense. A lot has been said since about how Joker needs to go back to being the clown prince of crime. And I agree mostly, but this was groundbreaking and there was a reason it was so influential. Nowadays I don't think gritty and realistic are synonyms anymore. Nowadays I like a bit of wild extravaganza in my comic book movies. I understand they're not meant to be the real world, they're heightened versions where ideals become personified and clash in colorful costumes. But this movie did what it meant to do just right. It was perfect and it worked. I loved it and thought it was the greatest thing ever. I'm not sure it isn't still. Anyways, after the movie ended and I got home, I googled the "most celebrated graphic novel of all time". I read Watchmen, my first actual comic book, and the rest is history. Here I am 17 years later (wow) a comic book nerd in love with film and stories. That night, quite literally, changed my life. Thanks Nolan, you get it.