It really is crazy, because as the title implies, this is a DARK movie. It's PG-13, but is really on the R-rated level in terms of intensity. It's certainly not a film for small children - and yet a quick glance in the Sunday circulars will show you all manner of action figures, kids' costumes, and childrens'-sized t-shirts for sale.
But all of that is ancillary. The truth is, this is NOT one of those movies that tries to be all things to all people. It's dark, complex, lengthy, violent, and disturbing. It comes to us as the product of a singular vision from a director, Christopher Nolan, whose trademark is not big, studio-friendly films but strange, twisting, mind-bending mysteries.
And yet, here we have THE DARK KNIGHT - the movie that now holds the record for highest grossing opening weekend of all time.
And you know what? The box office success of the movie is really a remarkable accomplishment. Because - putting aside the factors that helped feed the hype machine (Heath Ledger's untimely death, for one) - The Dark Knight's success means that it is now, by default, the template for how to build a successful blockbuster. And that, my friends, is a very good thing indeed.
THE DARK NIGHT Review:
(SPOILERS ahead!)
- Batman vs. The Joker. That iconic showdown between the forces of order and chaos, between good and evil, is pretty much the ultimate comic book rivalry. The medium's greatest hero and its greatest villain. It's a rivalry for the ages, and when it's brought to the big screen, it is an inherently special occasion. It's part of the reason why crowds everywhere burst into spontaneous applause at the end of Batman Begins, when Jim Gordon revealed the calling card of The Joker, indicating that we could expect to see the Clown Prince of Crime in the inevitable sequel. Ever since that crowd-pleasing closer, anticipation has been building for THE DARK KNIGHT, with fans closely following every step of the movie's production. I remember the speculation over casting and script. The trepidation about Heath Ledger being cast as The Joker. The gradual excitement as stills of Christopher Nolan's dark vision began to surface. There was that Empire Magazine cover story that revealed Ledger as The Joker in all his freakish glory - I made sure to purchase a copy while in London in November. In December, we were treated to the first several minutes of the film, a glorious display of badass action that introduced us to The Joker, revealed William Fichtner's kickass cameo, and taught us that what doesn't kill you only makes you ... stranger. That one scene contained so much promise, so much potential ... that the buzz for Dark Knight quickly grew to scale-tipping levels. Last winter, it was already clear that this was going to be one giant summer for blockbuster movies. Iron Man, Indiana Jones, and many more were coming in a span of several action-packed weeks. But one movie trumped all of them, as the shadow of The Bat loomed large over this summer movie season. And after this past weekend, there could be no doubt: this was the summer of The Dark Knight.
Picking up where BATMAN BEGINS left off, Christopher Nolan's second crack at the bat eclipses the original with an astounding mix of great writing and even better performances. Because unlike most superhero films, this one really has a stellar ensemble cast. Top to bottom, the cast that Nolan has assembled completely knocks it out of the park, and not only that, but we get at least a couple of actors turning in career-defining performances.
Let's start with the obvious: Heath Ledger really is remarkable as THE JOKER. This is a transformative piece of acting, in which Ledger completely disappears into the character. The mannerisms, the speech, the physical presence - this is as complete and dedicated a performance as any of the iconic roles that we've seen on film over the last several years. I can't help but draw comparisons to the two larger-than-life villains that stole the show in two of last year's best films. I can't help but put Ledger's Joker next to Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurgh and Daniel Day Lewis' Daniel Plainview - it's that same kind of iconic, scene-stealing performance. The kind that burns itself into your brain and becomes the stuff of dreams and nightmares.
Ledger's Joker is both the classic Joker of The Killing Joke and other canonical comics, and also something entirely new that we've never quite seen before. He's nihilistic and punk rock. He's Kurt Cobain and Johnny Rotten and Charles Manson all rolled into one. But most of all - he IS The Joker. Dark and disturbing, insane and psychotic and unpredictable and yet the smartest guy in the room - at times funny, but mostly a comedian playing to an audience of one. Ledger delivers a classic performance, and I think that he will and should be in the running come Oscar time. The buzz is deserved, and it would be there even if Ledger had been alive to hear it. His tragic passing makes this scary and immersive turn all the more haunting in retrospect, but the fact is, it's not really a factor while actually watching the film, and that's to the credit of Ledger and Nolan and the world that the movie creates. It's so complete (Ledger even gives the Joker a unique fighting style - wobbly and vicious), so real, that while watching you don't think in terms of actors - the characters are always paramount.
That being said, these iconic character are brought to life by a uniformly excellent cast. And aside even from Ledger's mind-blowing turn, two actors in particular really stood out to me here ...
Because as great as Ledger was, and as much as The Joker stole the movie to a large extent, Aaron Eckhart was also phenomenal in the film. Years ago, Batman: The Animated Series, in 22 minutes, crafted a Two Face origin story that was so compellingly tragic - it made Tommy Lee Jones' inept turn as Harvey Dent in the 90's that much more disappointing. But here, FINALLY, we get the big-screen Harvey Dent story we've been waiting for. Dent, Gotham's White Knight, becomes a character who you can't help but root for, and it makes his transition into the villainous Two Face all the more disturbing and shocking. Eckhart really delivers here - he make Harvey likable and sympathetic, and yet, beneath the surface, you can see the gears grinding. You can feel the frustration boiling below the surface. And man, when Dent finally snaps, it's scary. And awesome. And a lot of it is thanks to Eckhart's ability to sell us on the character's descent into madness.
Give credit also to the movie's f/x and makeup teams. When Dent is scarred, the result is a Two Face that looks at once to be straight out of the comics and cartoons, but also frighteningly grotesque and genuinely scary to look at.
The other actor I wanted to give special mention to is Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon. To me, Gordon has always been a great character - he's a guy who maybe would have been Batman himself were he younger and braver, but who is now forced to place his trust and the wellbeing of his city in the hands of a vigilante. And that's the thing about Gordon - he's willing to work with Batman because he knows that deep down he's a good man - but Gordon himself is a cop through and through. In fact, he's the one decent cop in a police force infested with corruption. In Batman he has his one true ally, and vice versa. And Oldman projects that sense of desperation mixed with determination to great effect. When the movie teased that Gordon was dead, I was legitimately upset. But when he triumphantly returned, I cheered aloud. And a lot of that is that Oldman has finally helped to craft a big-screen Jim Gordon who we the fans can root for, a Jim Gordon who can finally be that fan-favorite from the comics. As a diehard Batfan, it's awesome to see the ruffled trenchcoat, bifocal glasses, and classic cop 'stache. It's great to see Commissioner Gordon finally take his rightful place in the Batman movie cannon.
It's also kind of amazing when a movie has heavyweights like Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine in great supporting roles. When actors of that caliber are actually overshadowed in a film, you know you have a loaded cast. But that's not to say they don't both do a great job. Caine as Alfred (still sans 'stache, and still calling Batman "Master Wayne" - ugh!) really does get in some great moments. Same for Freeman as Lucius Fox.
Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes does a nice job with her part, though the character is really there in the film to serve a pretty specific function. The fact is - Batman is not a character that typically needs or works well with a love interest, and for that reason the Rachel Dawes character has always seemed a bit tacked-on since she appeared in Batman Begins. But at least here, she serves an important narrative purpose, and Gyllenhaal gives her a dramatic weight and maturity (though not much in the way of a spark with Christian Bale, or with Aaron Eckhart for that matter) that Katie Holmes had previously lacked.
One thing I really loved about the casting in Dark Knight though is how many uber-cool actors show up for smaller roles. My favorite scene in the film may still be it's absolutely show-stopping opening, with William Fichtner as one badass banker who cocks his shotgun with such gravitas-infused nonchalance that he makes you cry tears of fanboy joy. His presence is the icing on the cake of an opening bank-robbery set piece that absolutely crackles with energy and foreboding, as clown-masked thugs unknowlingly knock each other off at the Joker's whim. Later on, we get the always-fun Eric Roberts as mob boss Sal Maroni. Tiny "Zeus" Lister as a convict with a heart of gold. Anthony Michael Hall pops up as a shady character, and so does Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow. I also agree with the sentiment that the attention paid to the GCPD here really pays off. A few of Gordons' cops are given enough screen time that we begin to feel that Gotham's police force is made up of living, breathing people. It all adds to the rich tapestry of Gotham woven by Nolan and co.
And I haven't even mentioned Christian Bale. Make no mistake - Bale is the best big-screen Batman ever, bar none. He plays Bruce Wayne effortlessly, and really infuses the scenes that showcase Wayne's playful playboy facade with humor and wit. I have just one nagging complaint about Bale-as-Batman. For the love of Matches Malone, will someone make Bale study the Animated Series, to listen to the great Kevin Conroy's vocal inflections as both Bruce Wayne and Batman? While Conroy gave Batman an imposing, commanding voice and Wayne a softer tone, Bale feels the need to have Batman talk in a voice that sounds like he has a bad case of strep throat. It's not too distracting when Bale is using it while pounding on badguys and such, but it becomes unintentionally goofy-as-hell when he's delivering monologues to Gordon or Harvey Dent. Hopefully, if and when there's a third film, Bale can change this up a bit. But again, Bale is mostly great as Batman- give him credit for making this a Batman who's both believable and larger than life.
Christopher Nolan is certainly not a perfect director. He still struggles to make his fight scenes both frenetic and easy to follow, and his action choreography is rarely all that impressive. But overall, Nolan really does something special with The Dark Knight. He does something that few directors are able to accomplish with this type of movie - he creates a living and breathing cinematic world that feels real, solid, and is wholly immersive as a result. There are breathtaking shots of the Gotham cityscapes (even more breathtaking in IMAX), and this Gotham, while not as hyper-stylized as Tim Burton's version, is still dripping with grimy atmosphere. And yet, Nolan still manages to make the movie feel 100% epic. There are the sweeping shots of the Batman perched atop the city at night, the giant urban sprawl that becomes Batman's personal playground to glide, swing, rappel, and drive through. There is the insane menace of The Joker, who makes a classic entrance and whose acts of violence are framed with an eye towards capturing Heath Ledger's nuanced performance down to its every detail. There's an edge-of-your-seat car chase through Gotham, and a cool-as-hell moment in which a Batpod motorcycle breaks away from Batman's car, enabling a last-second escape. As I've said - the movie is just plain engrossing - it sucks you in and afterwards you feel like you've just spent a few hours in dark and dirty Gotham.
The script is also really well done. There are some great dialogue exchanges, with some of The Joker's little speeches in particular being truly memorable. Yes, Ledger's strange and captivating delivery is what sells the lines, but there is some great writing at work here. It's a script that thematically builds on some of the classic Joker characterizations from the likes of Alan Moore and Frank Miller, and which then places the Batman vs. Joker conflict into a larger context. I've read a number of reviews that look to place some type of political relevance on the film, but I don't see that at all. Rather, there are bigger questions of the human condition, of moral codes and absolutist beliefs, of right and wrong, that are on display here. It's weighty stuff, but that shouldn't surprise people. These comic book characters have long been an avenue to examine these types of issues, and its about time that these larger themes were featured so heavily in their big-screen adaptations.
Like Batman Begins, The Dark Knight is a movie which stands as greater than the sum of its parts. I say that because this is unquestionably a *great* film, but it is also a flawed one in some respects. It commits the sin of previous Batman films to some degree in that it can't help but be overstuffed. As well as Aaron Eckhart handles Harvey Dent's transformation into Two Face, for example, there is an argument that could be made that the full reveal of Two Face is something that could easily have been saved for another film. Instead, we get a final confrontation between Batman and Harvey that feels slightly anticlimactic after Batman's just-completed showdown with The Joker. And Harvey's final fate is left as frustratingly ambiguous. In fact, the movie has a few scenes that don't quite deliver any real closure. Take the scene where The Joker crashed Bruce Wayne's fundraiser. We see Batman save Rachel Dawes from certain doom at the party, and then quickly cut away, without ever seeing what becomes of The Joker and the party guests who he's been terrorizing.
But for every little complaint - from Bale's goofy Batman voice to the crusading Dent's slightly abrupt transition into a very evil Two Face - there are two instance of pure coolness of the highest order. Everything with the Joker is pure gold - from his pencil-centric magic trick to his running gag of recounting his tragic origins - each time with a different spin on the tale. There's the great scene with the Joker seducing Harvey to the dark side, the Joker being subjected to the Batman version of good-cop / bad-cop, and that one awesome scene where he can't quite detonate his giant freaking bomb. There's Batman's sonar-infused white eye-slits (!), Fichtner's shotgun, "Yeah, he told ME something similar," and that one throwaway line about "cats" that seemed to hint at a certain feline femme fatale's potential presence in a Part 3. That really is what makes THE DARK KNIGHT so unquestionably great - it is bursting at the seams with iconic moments that you'll be hard-pressed to forget. The film doesn't let up for a second - the intensity is nonstop and everpresent, and it's as present in the smaller moments as it is in the big action scenes, with a moody and pulse-pounding musical score perfectly accenting the on-screen action.
So believe the hype. Despite some rough edges, THE DARK KNIGHT is a true cinematic accomplishment. And no, it's not just great "for a comic book movie." If anything, The Dark Knight reaffirms that these legendary characters endure for a reason - they symbolize our darkest fears and brightest hopes, and in their epic struggles we see our own modern mythology play out before us. They make the choices we can't, or that we hope we never have to make. They follow their moral codes to the logical extremes. They confront true evil head-on, and fight for a greater good. The Dark Knight embraces that superhero mythology and brings it to life like no movie before it has. Heath Ledger kicks ass as the Joker. Christian Bale is the definitive big-screen Batman. Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman bring Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon to life with the complexity and depth that the fans have always hoped they'd see from these characters in a Batman film. And Christopher Nolan crafts another movie that treats these characters and these themes with reverence and respect. He attacks the material with a singular creative vision - creating a realistic, immersive world that at the same time is completely larger than life. I can't wait until this Dark Knight returns for one more go-round, because these films are currently the high-water mark in blockbuster filmmaking. Once again, the bar has been raised.
My Grade: A
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