Wait is Over for ‘The Dark Knight

By Manuel Gamiz Jr., The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Jul. 18–It definitely was a dark night.

Hundreds of fans of the Caped Crusader packed local movie theaters for the midnight show, many waiting over an hour in line to grab one of the few good seats, to catch the most anticipated and critically acclaimed installment in the Batman series, "The Dark Knight."

Pre-sale tickets went quickly and extra screens had to be opened for midnight showings at Regal Cinemas in Lower Nazareth Township, Lower Saucon Township and Philipsburg and the Rave Motion Pictures at the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley.

"This is unprecedented as far as midnight showings go in the movie industry," said Jeff Pawlowski, lead manager at Rave Motion Pictures. "The excitement, the reviews."

Rave had seven screens showing "The Dark Knight" at midnight. The Carmike Cinemas or AMC Tilghman, both in Allentown, will not be showing the "The Dark Knight" until later today.

At Regal’s Northampton Crossings in Lower Nazareth, the movie played on five screens.

Those crowds consisted mainly of teen-age boys and young men, some in shirts bearing the famous bat logo or an image of his most violent adversary to date. However, young women, parents and children also lined up to watch Christian Bale’s Batman battle it out with the Joker, played brilliantly by the late Heath Ledger.

As the critics have buzzed in recent weeks, Ledger’s portrayal of a bloodthirsty Joker was as dark and spectacular as advertised. Not your ordinary bank robber, Ledger’s character specialized in killing off public officials, causing citywide chaos and delivering memorable one-liners.

Batman was, well, he was Batman. Like he did with his first shot at the lead role in "Batman Begins," Bale is quickly making fans forget that Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney ever donned the bulletproof tights.

In supporting roles were Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

As the movie played, crowds applauded every breath-taking stunt, every Batman victory and every sick joke by Ledger. A pair of trailers — a new Terminator movie starring Bale and the latest DC Comics movie "Watchmen" — premiered before the start of "The Dark Knight" and also received a loud ovation.

After two-and-a-half hours, the movie ended leaving fans wanting more. And that’ll come in two to three years.

For those who were unable to catch the midnight premieres — closing credits rolled at almost 3 a.m. — several theaters began showings this morning starting at 9 a.m.

To find out when and where "The Dark Knight" is playing near you, click here for screentimes.

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