The Dark Knight

In the opening sequence of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger's Joker wickedly comments, "I believe what doesn't kill you simply makes you stranger." Ledger half-stutters with an eerie wheeze, and the succinct remark's implications are far-reaching. The Dark Knight explores that which drives individuals to disturbing ends, whether good or evil in intent. There's no doubt that this role was one of the most taxing of Ledger's unfortunately truncated career. With his passing, any comments about his death as an extension of this, his final performance, are bound to hang heavily. Nevertheless, no matter how The Joker's psychoses permeated Ledger in real life, his portrayal of the classic comic book villain is simultaneously unsettling and undeniably powerful. The Dark Knight is a modern superhero classic, not just because of Ledger's brilliant performance, but because Christian Bale remains the best actor to ever don the black cape and bat ears. The cat-and-mouse game that ensues between Bale and Ledger is far more psychological and dark than your average DC Comics showdown between morally opposing forces. Gotham City is a playground where righteousness and evil contend, and perception nearly becomes reality.

Director Christopher Nolan has crafted a cinematic symphony of action and dread. Its plot is relatively straightforward: the Joker begins terrorizing Gotham City in order to get Batman to reveal his identity. Meanwhile, the new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), is clamping down on crime like a white knight come to the rescue. He clashes hard with crooks by nailing mobsters, and he invokes ire in Bruce Wayne by romancing his former love, Rachel Dawes, a fantastic Maggie Gyllenhaal. Then there's Lieutenant James Gordon, a phenomenal Gary Oldman, working to keep it all together, as usual. The Joker proves to be a worthy adversary for all of the aforementioned good guys as he slowly takes over Gotham. The film flows with a distinct rhythm from the first daylight bank robbery through its artful climax. The first robbery sets things off with a bang, giving us the first bitter taste of just how sinister the Joker really is. Still, Nolan and company top said action with a daring tunnel chase scene mid-film. Bullets and scraps of metal fly as Batman and The Joker square off like never before. The action vignettes are both haunting and brilliant because Nolan allows the actors to take over while directing them through nonstop thrills.

The CGI and special effects are seamless, and Gotham City has never looked so vibrantly alive. Prospective viewers should consider seeing the film in IMAX, as six key sequences, usually ones where the camera sweeps over the Gotham landscape, are a visual thrill. The picture switches aspect ratios seamlessly, integrating film formats in an innovative new way. In fact, The Dark Knight marks the first time a movie has been partially shot with IMAX cameras, and the results are amazingly alive. The opportunity to feel as if you are floating high above the city like Batman himself is worth the price of admission alone.

The Dark Knight works so extraordinarily because of its stellar performances. Bale plays Batman’s dual personas with panache. In one scene, the headstrong, idealistic, and suave Bruce Wayne lands on the roof of a fundraising gala flanked by four very attractive models, with Bale's swaggering, debonaire gait communicating his self-assuredness. He is both playboy and rich boy, though he is prone to falling asleep in investment meetings. Bale has every facet of Wayne and Batman down to a science. In addition, his interactions with Alfred (Michael Caine) and Wayne Enterprises right-hand man Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) have a tangible emotion to them. He looks up to both men as father figures, having lost his own under tragic circumstances, as was revealed in the previous Nolan film, and as any Batman fan well knows. Alfred's apt ruminations about The Joker paint an especially clear picture: "Some men just want to watch the world burn." Moreover, both Bale and Gyllenhaal play their relationship with a painful sense of regret. It's subtle, yet perceptible through their mannerisms and tender interactions.

As The Joker Ledger almost steals the show, but it's hard to do so with a cast this top notch. At one point he declares himself an "Agent of Chaos," and nothing could be more true. He's Satanic and psychotic with his permanent red grin, fading, runny makeup and scarred face. Ledger masterfully inhabits the character. He twitches and wheezes and explodes things when he has to. He taps into the character's dementia and pain, explaining his scars to victims that will listen. There's something utterly macabre about his performance, as he laughs sinisterly and combs his long, shaggy, greenish-dirty brown hair with a knife. He shoots his prey on a whim, and manages to entrance while destroying. What Jack Nicholson had in style and humor, Ledger possesses in psychosis and malevolence. His Joker is genuinely frightening in the tradition of Hannibal Lecter. When he loudly pronounces the line, "Why so serious?" it sends chills, because Ledger's cadence reverberates.

Both The Joker and Batman are outcasts in this system, with the film begging the following question: Are these two men that different? They both mask themselves and operate outside the confines of the law. With Nolan's deft direction and a tight script it definitely makes the viewer think. Both characters are juxtaposed against by-the-book do-gooder Harvey Dent. However, there's a twist with that, too. In fact, it's paced so well, you never quite know what card is up Nolan's sleeve until he pulls out the Joker, so to speak.

One line from Ledger truly sums things up. He states, "In their last moments, people show who they truly are." He was a fantastic actor, one of the best of his generation. His memory lives on, and we all should rightfully get a little stranger after this ride.

—Rick Florino
07.17.08

The caped crusader gets a stunning dose of hardcore dramatics in The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's ambitious follow-up to Batman Begins. Hailed as the first real big-screen adult take on a popular comic mythos, the film goes to great lengths to show that costumed characters can indeed exist in genres outside of their comfort zone -- which in this case, spells gritty crime drama. Nolan's Gotham City might be beautiful, but it's decaying from the inside out -- as are most of the people in control of it. So at what point do the efforts of a costumed vigilante cease to have an impact on the city he vows to protect -- and when does his mere presence become a detriment to that society? It's these kinds of hefty issues that embody what could accurately be touted as a reinvention of the entire superhero film altogether. Thick with rich dramatics, daring performances, and a few knockout scenes of action gusto, The Dark Knight strives to not only one-up its predecessor, but also to lay down a measuring stick of quality for the rest of Hollywood to live up to.

Viewers' strong reactions to the picture likely have a lot to do with the casting. Heath Ledger's sad passing gives his fearless performance -- and in effect, the movie -- a sense of importance that is hard to counter. For his part, the talented performer gives a full-on show each time he is onscreen. His approach to this anarchist embodiment of The Joker is something truly special to behold and easily one of the boldest portrayals in comic-to-screen history. Take him away and there's still plenty of A-game being brought to the screen, thanks to the talents of Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Aaron Eckhart, whose solid performance as Harvey Dent makes up the tragic backbone of the film. For his part, Christian Bale does a fine job embodying the lonesome hero of his city, even if he persists in giving Batman's voice the same guttural growl that hurt his performance the first time around. Thankfully, the costume has been given an overhaul to address some of the "rubber suit" issues that have plagued the franchise since its Tim Burton days.

Yet just as Burton reshaped the character to fit his own gothic tastes, so does Christopher Nolan paint a picture all his own. By luring audiences in with a consistently light first half and then turning things bleaker as the movie progresses, the filmmaker has created a truly engrossing tale of modern decay. By the end, much has changed and no one is left unscathed. It's not an easy story to either tell or sit through. There are casualties -- and this most certainly is not a crowd-pleaser in the typical sense of the word. By eschewing what many others in his field are doing with similar comic properties and seeking out his inspiration elsewhere, Nolan shows that mature thematic material can have new life when adapted for even the most beloved heroes of the printed page. Critically, he does overshoot things a bit by bringing in slightly heavy-handed messages into the final chunk of the film -- and it seems that a few characters really get the short end of the stick (Scarecrow, anyone?). Perhaps the rumored three-hour cut would iron out a few of the film's issues, including rushed character arcs and especially one seemingly needless late set piece. The action, while improved in this installment, also is a bit hampered by some confusing techno-gadgetry (in one of the only moments where the action is dictated by fantastic spectacle).

Still, with its virtuoso vision and near avant-garde score from James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer fueling the picture's ever-growing dread, The Dark Knight stands on its own in a world full of easy entertainment. Perhaps someday someone will be able to happily marry the best that both Nolan and Burton have brought to the screen -- until then, this remains an impressive feat of studio-backed artistry. Like its own crime-fighter, the movie is a symbol that aspires to greater things; where it will lead is anyone's guess. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide