The Dark Knight

With stunning visuals, a dark and intelligent storyline and a powerful collective performance from an all-star cast, The Dark Knight succeeds in topping its predecessor and laying claim to the title of best comic book movie ever.

Actually, if you were just looking at the reasons I mentioned above, this movie would compare pretty closely to Batman Begins. What puts it over the top is Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker, a character that will go down as one of the great villains in film history among the ranks of Darth Vader and Hannibal Lecter.

Ledger’s performance is so mesmerizing and chilling that his character permeates the entire feel of the movie, affecting even the scenes he doesn’t star in. It adds up to a significantly darker addition to this already dark franchise. Parents should be advised that this one is not for the kids.

Those mature enough to enjoy this sinister epic will be rewarded with an action-packed thriller that moves at a swift pace while never skimping on the meaty themes and character moments that make these kinds of movies special. A film snob might complain that it’s longer than it needs to be, but it’s so much fun to watch that it doesn’t matter. More of this movie is not a bad thing.

The story follows Batman as he is settling into his role as Gotham’s protector and making a difference on the streets. That is until The Joker steps in and takes the craziness and violence to ridiculous proportions. In the midst of this, Bruce Wayne is looking to a new hero, district attorney Harvey Dent, as his chance to retire and have a normal life.

Much of the story focus on the lengths Batman, Dent and police commissioner Jim Gordon will go to in their war on crime and what it costs them. All the while the movie does a good job of exploring its themes, such as order vs. chaos, justice vs. revenge, and sacrifice for the greater good.

As mentioned before, this is one of the best performances by an entire cast in any movie in recent memory. Besides Ledger’s Oscar-worthy role, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman stand out particularly as Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon. These guys even manage of outshine Christian Bale’s Batman some of the time, which is quite a feat. Having leading quality actors such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhaal in supporting roles doesn’t hurt, either, and each of these actors are pure gold in their roles.

But, at its heart, this is Heath Ledger’s movie, which is just adds to the sadness associated with the young actor’s tragic death last year. We will be wondering for years what other kinds of performances this talented man had in him.

There’s not enough space to go into all the ways this movie succeeds, such as writer/director/producer Christopher Nolan’s brilliant cinematography and script, the eerie but pitch-perfect score from James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer or the ridiculous action sequences. Just rest assured that there’s a good chance this will be the best movie you see all year.

Prince Caspian

Unlike the book, the film version of Prince Caspian is better in almost every way than its predecessor. Director Andrew Adamson, who clearly struggled with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, seems to have found his footing on the second Narnia movie, which is a more consistent experience. Nearly every aspect of the movie has improved, including the action, music, cinematography, pacing and humor.

It helps that the book lends itself to film more than the first. A larger and more action-packed story than Wardrobe, Prince Caspian picks up a thousand Narnian years after the first movie, but just a year later in Earth time. The four Pevensie children—who are now effectively adults in children’s bodies—return to Narnia and find that foreign humans have taken control and wiped out most of the land’s native, mythical inhabitants, who now live in hiding. Plus, Aslan is nowhere to be found.

The Pevensies must find a way to meet up with Prince Caspian, whose throne has been usurped by his evil uncle Miraz, and unite the native Narnians to place the rightful king back on the throne and end the land’s oppression.

Everything about Caspian seems more solid this time around, and the film is really only hurt by a few bad performances. Overall the cast does a great job, particularly with the mythical characters. Fans of the chivalrous mouse-warrior Reepicheep should be thrilled with the way the gallant rodent comes to life on screen.

Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes capture Lucy and Edmund perfectly, as they did in the first movie. Ben Barnes, in his first major role as Prince Caspian, does a decent job and should get at least a few teenage girls to swoon, and Sergio Castellitto steals his scenes as King Miraz. Even Liam Neeson sounds a little less like himself, a little more like Aslan this time around.

The main problem lies with Peter and Susan, portrayed by William Moseley and Anna Popplewell. Just like in Wardrobe, these two just cannot carry leading roles in a movie. Their acting is flat and obvious, and every scene they’re in, now matter how well crafted, suffers a little.

Thankfully, one of the other problems of the first movie, the deviations from the book, isn’t as big of an issue this time around. It’s not that it doesn’t differ as much—quite the opposite, actually—it’s just that it doesn’t seem to matter. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is almost a sacred text to many Christians, so every deviation in the movie felt like a betrayal. With Caspian, I honestly couldn’t even remember enough about the book to spot many of the differences.

Of course, with its streamlined nature, the movie can’t explore as many Christian themes as the novel. However, there are still enough lessons here to delight pastors and youth leaders looking for sermon video clips, particularly on the main theme of faith. Lucy, who has retained her child-like attitude, is the only one who can see Aslan this time, and the rest of the heroes disbelieve her. When they try to win the war without looking to Aslan, everything fails.

In another scene involving temptation, Edmund—who has experienced the most redemption—is the one who sees through the lies. Little tidbits like that make this movie a great tool for parents.

While not on the same quality level as something like The Lord of the Rings, Prince Caspian is a big step forward for the Narnia movies and gives a fans of the C.S. Lewis novels hope for the future of the franchise. Bring on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader!

Iron Man

With sharp writing, witty humor, a touch of social commentary and a tour de force acting performance from Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man hits all the right notes to create a pitch perfect superhero movie, a thoroughly entertaining romp that kick-starts the summer blockbuster season with style.

Downey plays industrialist/genius/playboy Tony Stark, who spends most of his time drinking, chasing models and delivering snappy one-liners when he’s not designing high-tech weapons of mayhem. That all changes when Middle Eastern terrorists—who are using the very weapons he designed for America—capture him. Forced to build the terrorists a high-tech missile, Stark instead uses the parts to create a super-powered suit of armor and escapes, bringing a newfound sense of responsibility back home.

Downey carries Iron Man with a marvelous performance, delivering clever quips and dramatic moments equally well. This may well be a breakout performance for the respected actor, who has always been a critics’ darling but has never found the mainstream appeal many expected of him. As Stark, he carries the movie with a charisma that would make George Clooney jealous.

Stark’s not alone, either. The rest of Iron Man’s cast fills its supporting roles well. Gwyneth Paltrow glows as Stark’s competent and beautiful assistant, “Pepper” Potts (don’t you love comic book names?). Paltrow quickly establishes her character as the only woman who really cares about Stark, and vice versa. Their dynamic, but chaste, relationship provides the perfect contrast to the one-night stands common in his life.

Terrence Howard also proves effective as Stark’s friend and army contact Jim Rhodes, and Paul Bettany delivers a delightful (and unaccredited) bit part as Jarvis, the butler-y voice of Stark’s home computer. The only weak spot in the cast is Jeff Bridges, whose usual casual attitude just doesn’t bring enough impact to his role as businessman Obadiah Stane.

The cast brings to life a fun and subtly smart movie. Iron Man succeeds where other comic book movies have failed by balancing the right amounts of amusement and intelligence. It develops real themes about war, national defense and personal responsibility, yet the slight social commentary never gets in the way of the simple joy of watching a guy in a red-and-gold supersuit learn to fly and take out terrorists. Credit director Jon Favreau for this crisp balance.

It’s not a perfect film, however. After the opening sequence, there’s not all that much to the story. The plot seems content to watch Stark tinker with his gadgets all day, although it never feels slow because Downey manages to keep the fun going, even if he’s just cracking wise with his robot assistants. The final fight scene and the villain reveal are both a bit anticlimactic, but they really don’t drag the film down too much.

The personal responsibility theme gives Iron Man a solid message. Seeing Stark realize the emptiness of his playboy lifestyle and the responsibility his gifts give him provides a great parallel to the materialism of the U.S. and the responsibility American Christians have to a world in need.

Overall, Iron Man ranks near the top on the list of best superhero movies of all time. It doesn’t have the impact of something like Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2 or the original Superman, but it also doesn’t try to match those iconic movies. It’s a little smaller, a little simpler, and just as much fun.