Another Dark Knight Review

When I was six years old, my dad took me to see a movie that made a lasting impression in my life. That movie was Batman. If Superman gave us the quintessential superhero in Christopher Reeve, then Batman gave us his counterpart in Jack Nicholson’s portrayal of Batman’s nemesis, the Joker. After almost twenty years, nobody has been able to top Jack’s performance, until last night.

The Dark Knight, the latest installment in the Batman movie franchise, returns us to same conflict between Batman and the Joker, with a Joker that makes Jack Nicholson look like Cesar Romero (look it up if you don’t get the reference).

The Dark Knight does not just live up to its hype, it exceeds it. Picking up where its predecessor, Batman Begins, left off, Batman’s (Christian Bale) war on crime has changed Gotham City, for the better and for the worse. For better, because Batman and a crusading District Attorney named Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) have succeeded in bringing down Gotham’s crime syndicate. For worse, they created a force worse than the mob ever was, the Joker (Heath Ledger).

All the talk about Heath Ledger deserving a post-humus Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ makes sense. Ledger’s Joker is more than a madman–he’s a force of nature. The Joker exists for one purpose: to bring chaos and anarchy to Gotham. If he kills a busload of hospital patients so be it, if he hurts or kills himself so be it. His goal is to push Batman and Harvey Dent to their limits, to show the world that even the “whitest of knights” can go to the dark side with enough nudging.

What really separates Ledger from Nicholson is Ledger is able to be both funny and terrifying at the same time. One minute you’re laughing with him but within a split second he’ll turn your body into knots, which is exactly the way the Joker should be portrayed. Heath Ledger, even if he didn’t die in my opinion, deserves an Oscar for his performance. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen because the Academy is a bunch of elitist pricks that tend to frown upon movies based on superheroes. (Once more, my opinion)

Christian Bale is Batman. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been dropped on their head. This time around Bale has found how to separate Bruce Wayne from Batman while still keeping them same. As Bruce Wayne, Bale is flashy and flamboyant. He shows up to a party in a helicopter surrounded by beautiful women while sleeping in the middle of a board meeting. As Batman he is rigid, stoic, and all business. The best part about Christian Bale is how he can switch into these roles on a whim. A skill that is essential in this film, because he has to use his skills as Bruce Wayne to achieve Batman’s goal of stopping the Joker. Finally, Bale makes you feel his moral dilemma when it comes to handling the Joker. You really wonder if he’ll cross the line in order to protect his city.

The tragic hero of the film is definitely Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent. Eckhart’s Dent is charming, inspirational, and conflicted all at the same time. Which makes his story all the more tragic. His line, “you either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain” sums up his characters arc perfectly. Slowly over the film, Harvey’s transformation is foreshadowed and you don’t want it to happen. When Two Face appears you are saddened by how far this good man has fallen.

Maggie Gyllenhaal steps in for Katie Holmes as love interest Rachel Dawes. As an actress there is no question that Gyllenhaal is far superior to Holmes, and goes above and beyond the norm for a role such as this. On the hotness scale, let’s just say when I think of her I think of the girl Jerry dated in the “Festivus” episode of Seinfeld (correct me if I got the episode wrong)–she looks better under some lights rather than others. But don’t worry, there are plenty of models on Bruce’s arms to make up for it.

Finally, the character that experiences the most growth is Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon. In Batman Begins, Gordon is an honest man broken by the corruption that surrounds him. In The Dark Knight, thanks to Batman and Dent he has become the glue that holds the Gotham police force together. His sense of justice and dedication to his job is so strong that he makes a desperate move to bring in the Joker, even though it might hurt his family. However, he is also a family man and cares about the people around him. Oldman makes you see why Gordon was promoted to Commissioner.

With plot twists, a great cast, and subtle social commentary The Dark Knight is a textbook example of how a sequel should be done. Eschewing the traditional sequel formula of ‘bigger equals better’ that causes so many sequels to fall flat on their face, The Dark Knight builds upon what was established in Batman Begins and moves the characters forward, allowing them to grow but keeping their core the same. This truly is the movie of the summer. The only thing that makes this movie better is seeing it amongst Batman fanatics. From the photos below, you will never see an audience that is so into a movie. The Dark Knight has returned, and it looks like he’s here to stay.