KNIGHTwatch continues!

While I've been floating around new ideas for posts, I feel like it's only appropriate to continue some more discussion on what is now officially a phenomenon- THE DARK KNIGHT. I don't really need to recap all of the records that are currently being smashed to pieces with each passing day, but what's exciting to observe is how truly phenomenal this movie has become. I don't feel as if I can provide an accurate in-depth review of the film until I see it again, but all I can say is after the first viewing, the film itself is truly amazing in its complexity and boldness to be more fearless than any other "comic book movie" has ever been before it. It's so well crafted that I really think that it has the feel of an instant classic. And what I mean by instant classic is that it will be a film that you'll watch in a few years for the 20th time and discover something new you never noticed the first 19 times. It's a film that people will turn on, watch and say "I forgot how good this movie is."
I think right now since most of the focus on how its doing at the box office, it's important to really appreciate what we're currently witnessing.  Not since TITANIC has a movie become this phenomenal and really gone above and beyond what anyone could ever have predicted.  As such, here's a number of reasons why THE DARK KNIGHT's record breaking run is something that is truly amazing:

1) It's a sequel- The predecessor to THE DARK KNIGHT, BATMAN BEGINS, "only" grossed $205 million at the box office back in 2005.  While the fan response to that film was very enthusiastic, it's darker and more realistic approach to the Batman mythology made it a tougher sell to audiences other than the comic fanboys.  It wasn't nearly the accessible hit that IRON MAN or SPIDERMAN was, a hit that was truly four quadrant.  This makes THE DARK KNIGHT's success phenomenal because for a sequel to a film that didn't have as broad an audience as you might think to do as well as it's doing is quite unexpected.  While THE DARK KNIGHT surpasses BATMAN BEGINS in almost every aspect, sequels rarely outgross their predecessors, especially to this high degree.

2) It's a comic book movie, but it's kinda not- When you think of the most successful comic book movies, the films that come to mind are the ones that make the comic pages come to life in a truly cinematic way.  Comic book movies are supposed to be the ultimate escapist cinema with larger than life villains, grand heroes, and action set pieces and scenarios that you wouldn't normally see in real life.  While THE DARK KNIGHT certainly has touches of all of those elements, most of them to a degree seem a bit more grounded, rather than comic panels come to life.  The internal and external conflicts the characters face in the film deal more with real human conflict rather than the conflict that a superhero or tortured supervillain must confront.  The basic point is that when you look back on the film, it's more of a crime drama than a comic book film, and the fact that audiences are responding to the film in that regard is unexpected.

3) It's a dark (no pun intended) film- If you've seen the film, you know there are moments in THE DARK KNIGHT where you just think "I would never take a kid to see this movie."  TITANIC was a movie that had something for everyone: it was a romance, and action movie, historical drama.  Everyone went to see that movie multiple times (mostly teenage girls) because it had enormous broad appeal.  THE DARK KNIGHT deals with murder, terrorism, corruption.  It's not a light movie, and many of the themes and storylines are complex and dark.  People die, the villains do truly horrible things, and the heroes aren't always the good guys.  This is a new kind of epic, and there must be something in this film that's driving people to see it two, three or four times.  Since it's so dark and tough to watch at moments, it would be very interesting to know what is drawing people to see the film multiple times.

It will be extremely fascinating to see where THE DARK KNIGHT ends up at the end of the day.  I think it will be hard to judge if it can challenge TITANIC as the box office champ, but the picture will certainly be more clear in a week or two.  This is a movie that, in a way, is rewriting the rules, and that's always a good thing.  I, for one, know that one time was certainly not enough to enjoy this "new classic."  This is a movie you don't want to miss on the big screen, and really want to enjoy as many times as you can.  This is a movie to get anyone excited about the movies.

As always comments are welcome and encouraged.  What did you think of THE DARK KNIGHT?  Where does it rank on your list of classics?