Review: ‘The Dark Knight’
Review: ‘The Dark Knight’
4 stars out of 5
Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) has done the unthinkable. He made a superhero movie that makes other superhero movies look stupid. “Step aside Iron Man, we’re doing grown-up stuff here”. The much anticipated follow-up to the 2005 Batman reboot, Batman Begins, encases adult themes such as identity, moral equivalency, and the definition of just what a “hero” is. The Dark Knight is a hauntingly dynamic and thought provoking film, filled with complex symbolism and imagery but keeping just enough action from being labeled art house…but has enough cerebral meat from being tossed aside as a simple “popcorn muncher”.
While the movie is far from perfect — See Christian Bale’s “mean guy” voice for details — Dark Knight excels in what it is able to accomplish for a mainstream superhero movie. Making the audience think. In comics, Batman has carried murky themes since Neal Adams time on the series at DC. After Frank Miller’s masterpiece, The Dark Knight Returns, Batman headed towards and even darker arena that revolved around death, its meaning, and a crisis of identity. The magic of this movie, is its ability to capture that and present in a palpable fashion for not only longtime fans of the series but those who don’t know much about the Batman mythos. Nolan never delves into the origin of The Joker (Heath Ledger), in fact that’s kinda the point. The Joker, “an agent of chaos”, with an ever changing history of his disfigurement, comes out of the darkness with one simple reason: show those who plan relentlessly that their world can be rocked out of nowhere and for no good reason. Simple as that. Hell, alarming as that too. In the film, Joker continues his rampage from the ending shot in Begins and robs a mob bank by way of using — and abusing– his henchmen. After a visit to a mobster round-table meeting, Joker offers his services to remove The Batman for a rather large fee. The mobsters quickly dismiss the freak but eventually unite with the madman as Batman (Christian Bale), the Major Crimes Unit led by Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman), and a bonafide ass-kicking District Attorney by the name of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), begin tracking and freezing mob assets. As the screws continue to turn, soon the multiple mob factions are at odds with not only Batman and the city government but with Joker and his burgeoning operation. Soon Joker sets up horrible traps for Gotham’s citizens, practically begging them to become just as murderous as him by placing them in moral quandaries. Batman also falls victim to Joker’s plan as he must choose which friend to save after they’re kidnapped. Harvey Dent or Bruce Wayne’s long time love, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), whom Dent is dating. Later, while Dent is in the hospital suffering from extensive burns to his face, is paid a visit by Joker and is manipulated to the point of vengeance, setting up an awkwardly delicious standoff.
Normally during this time of year (summer blockbuster season), one doesn’t even mention “Oscar” unless we’re talking about the guy that makes those delicious sandwiches downtown or that damn kid that rides his motorized scooter up and down the street. No, the Hollywood community and its faithful followers don’t usually talk about the Academy Awards until much later in the year. Yet, here, beneath clown makeup, a purple trench coat and nurse costume, is an actor gone too soon, with too few films, but with a lasting legacy. When Heath Ledger was originally cast as The Joker, many within the fanboy community (myself included) balked with a restrained skepticism over the announcement. Nolan, a favorite here on Reel Loop, can really do no wrong so a wait and see attitude was held. In Tim Burton’s Batman, Jack Nicholson became the golden standard on what the Clowned Prince of Crime was. A nasty showman with a flair for the ol’ slice, slice, bang, bang and maestro of all things murderous. Nobody could come close to that, especially the guy that played a gay cowboy. Mr. Ledger not only met expectations with his portrayal of The Joker but exceeded any and all interpretations. He brought the comic villain to life…and it was a bit scary. While Christian Bale still continues to present a Bruce Wayne/Batman, full of internalized anger, depression and wit, the other noteworthy performance is Aaron Eckhart (Meet Bill). While Mr. Eckhart has never really dazzled audiences as a leading man, his performance as Gotham’s D.A., Harvey Dent (and later Two-Face) was a delightedly surprise. Strong and inspiring, then filled with an unquenchable rage, Aaron Eckhart has just moved a few rungs up the Hollywood ladder after this. Morgan Freeman as Bruce’s own “Q”, Lucious Fox, and Maggie Gyllenhaal with her Rachel role (originally played by hot stuff, Katie Holmes) were both adequate but with no discernible intrigue.
Don’t be fooled by Dark Knight’s PG-13 rating. This is not kids movie, in fact, it should be stressed that kids probably shouldn’t see this unless they have a matured sensibility. It’s awkward to see the multiple shameless toy-in’s brought to us by Mattel in conjunction with Warner Bros. It’s akin to seeing a 6 year old playing with a Alex DeLarge action figure. Used for a bit of the ultraviolence, I suppose. No, despite the over abundance of promotional marketing, both on mainstream media outlets and the internet, Knight’s themes are a bit heavy for youngsters…for which I’m a bit grateful. Batman has never been, in my opinion, a family friendly hero. He’s a moody prick whom I’d never have a beer with. Partly because we don’t run with the same circles. He’s best in the dark and Christopher Nolan kept him there. In the end, we as an audience are left with a single question: can this growing genre mature? Friends, this is exhibit A.
