This is only my second post about movies, but just like last time, this time was just an outstanding movie. This weekend, The Dark Knight finally started in German theaters, many weeks after it hit the screens in the US. Of course we didn't go to see the German version, I almost puked at the German trailer, so I would have never survived 150min of a German Joker.

In short, it was an absolutely amazing movie. The pressure of the Graphic Novel fans on the director, Christopher Nolan, must have been tremendous, as the movie was stuffed full with references and post-modern adaptations from the almost 70 years of Batman history. I have to see the movie again, because even as an afficionado, I'm sure I missed a lot in this fast-paced movie. I wonder if anyone who didn't know the intertwined story of Batman and Joker beforehand would have understood much of the movie at all. I'd guess that if you are not an expert and have not been growing up with the Batman books, you probably missed at least 2/3 of what this film was all about.

Comic adaptations lag about 20 years behind the books. The 60s TV series sort of emulated the 40s comics ("de-emphasized social commentary in favor of lighthearted juvenile fantasy"), but was a persiflage or parody at the same time. The movies in the 80s were about at the level of story telling of the late 60s comics ("a grimmer, darker Batman"). This latest movie finally is starting to catch up with the late 80s stories of the likes of Arkham Asylum (Grant Morrison) and Year One (Frank Miller), but isn't quite there, yet (probably movies never will).
The 40s comics were mainly driven by the longing for a super-hero to fight crime and protect us and the society we live in. This strong law-and-order feeling permeates the comics throughout. Later, as the regular bad guys didn't suffice any more, super-villains get invented, e.g. the Joker. In the 80s and early 90s, as the comics mature to graphic novels, the focus is more on the psyche of the heroes and villains and what our society would be like if they existed. Or if we still really would want them. Or what kind of people they and we would be if they existed. The Dark Knight is a first attempt at covering the story which the graphic novels have been covering for about 20 years now.I think it is a well-done attempt that covers a lot of ground and touches most of the threads which have been treated in the DC Comic Universe.