The Dark Knight Review

So, I went to see The Dark Knight on Friday, opening day. Now, mind you, I'm not a superhero movie fan by any means. I enjoyed Spider-man 1 and 2 (despised the third) and I really loved Iron Man, though I wouldn't call Iron Man a "superhero" film. The same can be said for Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, the predecessor to Dark Knight. So, on that note, let me begin by saying that I wouldn't really call The Dark Knight a "superhero" movie. I would feel more comfortable calling it a "crime saga" or "drama".

Christopher Nolan returns to direct the film, Christian Bale returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine returns as Alfred, Gary Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon, Morgan Freeman returns as Lucius Fox and Katie Holmes is replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal (an enormous improvement, by the way) to play the part of Rachel Dawes.

Newcomers include Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and Heath Ledger as The Joker.

The film begins a full year after the end of Batman Begins. Crime in Gotham is at an all-time low, though now, all of the crime lords that once ruled Gotham independently have consolidated to become a single "mob" to protect themselves against "the Batman". In addition, we are now seeing Batman copycats pop up all over the city, which causes Bruce Wayne to question his validity as a crime fighter.

Within the opening 10 minutes, we are introduced to The Joker during an outstanding bank heist scene. We also learn early on just what kind of man The Joker is: a heartless and psychotic sociopath (more on Ledger's performance later).

A new DA, Harvey Dent, is now in charge of keeping Gotham safe, and most citizens consider him a knight in shining armor. This also causes Bruce Wayne to wonder about whether or not he should necessarily be fighting crime vigilante style. The Joker eventually convinces all of the mobsters that it was necessary to kill, not only Batman, but everyone involved in crime prevention, including judges, police officers and even fellow mobsters, and, of course, it is Batman's job to try and stop him.

Now, as I'm showering praise on the writing and acting in Dark Knight, please keep in mind that the film is far from perfect. It is absolutely too long, firstly. I'm not the kind of person that normally objects to length, but I do have a big problem with unnecessary length. Immediately, I can tell you that Nolan simply tried to fit too much into the movie, and, in so doing, gave a metaphorical finger to the character of Harvey "Two-Face" Dent (hopefully, that's not a spoiler to anyone at this point). Nolan tries valiantly to cram Two-Face's transformation, criminal doings and subsequent death into the final half hour of the film, which is painfully obvious. In addition, there are some storytelling issues throughout the film, with seemingly pivotal scenes ending abruptly with no real explanation. I also feel as though the film could have benefited from an R-rating. And, yes, I know that the production studio probably considered it and then realized that their profits may have been cut in half with a "Restricted" rating, but their efforts to keep it adolescent-friendly are also very obvious throughout the film, contrasting heavily with the portrayal of Joker as a murderous psychopath.

However, the positives far outweigh the negatives. Let me begin by saying that the dialogue is masterful, rivaling that of Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Bruce Wayne comes off as a believably arrogant billionaire playboy with no problem, and every line that comes from the mouth of The Joker keeps you glued to the screen at all times (thanks, in part, to Ledger's brilliant delivery). The overall theme resembles that of films like L.A. Confidential, The Departed and the Godfather trilogy.

As for the acting, it is outstanding across the board. Christian Bale does very well as Bruce Wayne, though, I definitely feel like he should rethink the hideous, cringe-inducing growl he tries to pass as the voice of Batman. Gary Oldman portrays Commissioner Gordon's desperation perfectly, Michael Caine remains the wise voice in the back of Batman's head, Morgan Freeman provides occasional relief from the film's overwhelmingly dark themes, Aaron Eckhart does a brilliant job of portraying Dent as a white knight and then contrasting that with Two-Face's hatred of those that took away the things he loved, and Gyllenhaal does a wonderful job as Holmes' replacement.

I do, however, feel like I need to devote an entire paragraph to Ledger's portrayal as The Joker. Ledger's performance is absolutely masterful, to say the least. With all the hype surrounding his death, I went into the movie thinking that there was no way his character would live up to it. I was proven delightfully wrong in every way possible, and he even managed to surpass my expectations. The amazing thing about it is that at no point during the film's 2 hours and 40 minutes did I think to myself, "Hmm, Ledger really is doing a great job." He ceases to be Heath Ledger and becomes The Joker. His portrayal can really only be described with words like "eerie", "creepy", and "disturbing". As you watch him, you become completely convinced that he would torture and kill everyone he could, just because.

His reasoning becomes clear when he delivers the line: "I'm like a dog chasing a car. I wouldn't know what to do with it if I caught it." Every aspect of the character is chill-inducing, from his facial scars, his consistent licking of them, his asymmetrical movements and his self-applied face paint to the matter-of-fact delivery of lines like: "So, how many of your friends have I killed?" to a police officer and the follow-up question: "Would you like to know which of them were cowards?". Terrifying, absolutely terrifying.

On a final note, Dark Knight, overall, is excellent. While the film has its flaws, Ledger's performance is, alone, worth the price of admission. Believe the hype.

4.5 out of 5