Dark Knight Review

Alright, I saw the new batman movie this weekend, and even went dressed up for it. (photo by Scott Goldstein)
Thing is, this wasn't the movie I expected to see.
I'd heard all of this hype that the film was a dark, dark movie... and that's not what I saw.
I went to the Music Box theater here in chicago, and was quite astounded to see that not as many people as I expected had shown up to watch the premiere. I'd originally thought I was just lucky to get tickets when I did. But, oh well, everyone else's loss. The lights dimmed, and the film started.
The film started off in a much more brightly lit Gotham than the last film, and (might I add) the Chicago structures, used in filming, weren't that recognizable. Maybe I'd just not gotten down to that part of town yet, or maybe they'd just really dressed it up, to be a lighter Gotham.
The movie starts when Batman and (surprise!) Robin (I guess all that talk about not having a robin in this series was just to save up for a BIG surprise.) get word that Commodore Schmidlapp is in danger on his yacht... They take the bat boat out onto the water, only to get trapped, and have to do battle with an exploding shark! After escaping, Batman and Robin discuss with Comissioner Gordon what happened, only to deduce that The Joker (a much goofier performance than I expected), Catwoman, The Riddler and the Penguin have joined forces!
I'd like to start off by addressing the fact that it was nice to see four villains teamed up so well. I never thought I'd see Catwoman team with the Penguin after Batman Returns. The Riddler, though seemed to be stealing his manic performance from Jim Carrey's turn in Batman Forever.
The tone of the film is not what I expected to see. All this talk about the Joker deserving an oscar for his dark portrayal? He was even hammier than Jack Nicholson!
Gotham City itself seems sunnier than Metropolis.
Don't get me started on the Batsuit. Say what you will about the rubber look of Batman Begins, at least that suit didn't sport a "bat gut". Not to mention the blue and gray would make it impossible for Batman to hide in the shadows!
All in all I've... what's that?... Batman from 1966?... Not the Dark Knight?... Oh...
Well, it looks like I have an actual movie to see this week. Until then!