The Dark Knight

Yes, I’m not too immersed in southeast asian culture to avoid new movies. No spoilers, if you worry about that sort of thing

The thing that The Dark Knight does, that was done in Batman Begins and that was never done in the first four (five if you want to count ’66), is that never loses focus on Batman being the most interesting character in the movie. Yes, even with the Joker there. The movie also underscores why sequels to superhero movies are often thematically stronger to their predecessors, because in my estimation the struggle with being a superhero is infinitely more interesting than simply becoming one. This is one of the reasons The Incredibles was so strong, because it was smart enough to start the story in the middle.

The Dark Knight picks up not too much farther down the road than where Batman Begins left off. Gotham City is still a city full of crime and corruption, but the Batman (Christian Bale, still intense and gravelly voiced) has been making small inroads. The criminals are afraid of him. The police are chummy with him. The new district attorney, Havey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), just wants to meet him. And ADA Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal stepping in for Katie Holmes) still pines.
Knight further cements Batman’s role in Gotham City while at the same time shining a big, bright light on what makes him unique as a superhero: at the end of the day, he’s just a man. He’s not bulletproof. He’s not invincible. He makes bad decisions. He steps over the line. But he does what’s needed of him.

Enter the Joker. Those only familiar with Nicholson’s campy take on the iconic villain might not appreciate the lengths the film goes to establish exactly why he’s the perfect foil for Batman. Batman is deep, methodical. He’s the world’s greatest detective. The Joker is nothing more than the id unleashed without tether to the ego or superego. He is the lack of structure personified. Batman can’t figure him out because there’s nothing there to figure out.

The film is quick to setup the basic connection between Batman and the Joker. How exactly are they different? They both hide behind masks. They both operate outside the law. Sure, the Joker kills people, but it’s not like Batman has never had to deal with any collateral damage. What makes The Dark Knight so fascinating is that it doesn’t raise questions to eventually get to answers. It doesn’t make it easy for Batman to maintain his status quo. He’s not the everyman hero, draped in red, white and blue, inspiring children and adults to be better people. He’s just trying to get shit done.

A lot of the media coverage is going to go to Heath Ledger and his performance as the Joker. It’s understandable, a decent actor on the cusp of becoming a legend dies suddenly and this is the first role he left behind. I don’t think it’s maudlin or in poor taste, because his performance would likely have been celebrated if he were still alive. You see, it’s one thing to play crazy. It’s actually pretty easy. You’ve got a bag of tricks, you can go to extremes, show off to the hilt, leaving teeth marks in every bit of set. That’s not what Ledger does. It’s hard to say, because even without the smudged makeup and rock star hair, Ledger is completely lost in the role. It wasn’t like watching Nicholson play the Joker. It was simply watching the Joker. There’s never an off moment. Never a point where you can see the performance begin. Every time the camera zips past his eyes they betray a completely maniacal presence. The way he licks his lips like a caged lizard is never not creepy. He’s completely unleashed here, and yet, there is nothing campy or over the top about his performance.

Bale has to hide behind the mask a little too often, but he’s still able to convey the struggle of Batman. The denouement ended up being all about him, a much more gratifying ending than any expected face-off. It also, again, cements Batman’s uniqueness as a hero.

Replacing Katie Holmes was an expert choice. I’m not generally a fan of recasts, and before seeing the film I was wondering why they couldn’t simply create a new role for Gyllenhaal as one of Batman/Bruce Wayne’s seemingly rotating line of women. In context though, it’s painfully clear and completely necessary for her to be who she is. It’s not hard replacing Holmes, because Maggie is convincing both as a human and as an assistant district attorney, and it doesn’t take much to establish the chemistry between her character and Bale’s, and how Eckhart fits in as well. In fact, it’s yet another plus in the movie’s pro column that even the love triangle is viable from all sides and never feels forced or used only to drive plot.

Eckhart is tremendous as well, and it’s a shame he is (and will continue to be) so overshadowed by Ledger. Again, in different hands Harvey Dent would not be nearly the engaging and relevant character that he is. He is, somewhat surprisingly, the most important character in the film, thematically speaking, but that’s all I’m going to say about that. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Michael Caine all return and offer nice support.

What impressed me most about the movie was that the filmmakers had, for lack of a better word, balls. They weren’t afraid to go places that few films in this genre have gone before. In doing so, in approaching this as simply a movie, and not a superhero movie, they are able to capture, engage and inspire and tell a story with emotional weight even it features a man in tights, or more accurately, a exo-skeleton.

I can generally tell how good a film is by when I actually start writing the review. If I’m in the theater thinking about what I’m going to say about this particular scene or performance, it might be a good movie, but it’s probably not a great movie. If I’m not so fully engrossed in the movie that I can think about my own reaction to it, that’s not a good sign. This review didn’t start in my head until well after the credits started to roll. And even now, I still wish I could do it more justice. It’s messy film, and especially dark, naturally, but it’s also truly compelling, and nothing short of fascinating. My grade – A