In a post-9/11 world, can a hero be the villain? How far must that hero go to unravel the machinations of a villain without a desire to live? Must that hero become the very object he fights in order to vanquish the villain? And is his identity all he is willing to lose in order to win?
These complex, far-reaching questions and more bubble beneath the surface of the greatest comic book film to date. Masquerading as a crime drama, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN’S THE DARK KNIGHT tackles the weightiest issues of our day with precision and insight by telling us a story about a vigilante who dresses up like a bat.
Our story picks up with Batman (CHRISTIAN BALE) still fighting various factions within the Gotham crime underworld. The healthy respect for the pecking order is severely challenged with the arrival of The Joker (HEATH LEDGER), who intends to create anarchy among the wary gangs. Chief among his targets is hotshot District Attorney Harvey Dent (AARON ECKHART) and his girlfriend Rachel Dawes (MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL). Caught in the crossfire is the crooked police force, led by do-gooder Lt. Gordon (GARY OLDMAN).
The story is epic and intriguing, filled to the brim with interconnecting character motivations and storylines. All of the characters are pushed into difficult and unsuspecting places throughout the film, lending a decidedly adult air to the proceedings. Some reviewers have compared THE DARK KNIGHT to crime films like THE DEPARTED, but that comparison is unfair; THE DEPARTED didn’t have nearly this much story to tell. THE DARK KNIGHT is closer to films like THE GODFATHER in that it deftly weaves several major storylines together into a satisfying tapestry. The narrative leads to a conclusion that shoves Batman into a role that is both difficult and appropriate, perfectly setting up the emotional themes of the obvious third film.
The cast is uniformly excellent in their roles, although some suffer from being underwritten. Bale does what he can with Bruce Wayne, although Wayne barely appears in the film. Batman, however, shows up constantly throughout, the irritating growl from the last film unfortunately intact. Gyllenhaal, replacing the oft-scorned KATIE HOLMES, brings much-needed life to Rachel Dawes, imbuing her with a sexuality and intelligence that never crossed Katie’s pretty little brainwashed head. Other talents, like MICHAEL CAINE and MORGAN FREEMAN, are mostly wasted in brief cameos.
The film boasts two terrific, film-carrying performances. Oldman, marvelously restrained, provides the moral center of the film with his perfect incarnation of Lt. Gordon. While Oldman was good in the first film, he here expands Gordon’s righteous anger with a love and loyalty that makes the final showdown heartbreakingly unbearable.
The big story is, of course, Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Looking at the various incarnations of The Joker, one can easily see that the character takes on the mentality of the times; in the sixties, CESAER ROMERO’s Joker played simple little pranks, while the JACK NICHOLSON Joker of the eighties was malevolent while still retaining a playful, creative sense of fun. Ledger, however, plays his Joker like a suicidal psychotic with one trembling finger on the button. Ledger wildly flicks his lips around the edges of his torn, jagged lips, allowing his staggered words and darting eyes to reveal the intelligence behind his complex and devious plans.
While I am not quite convinced that the performance is Oscar-worthy, it is one you cannot forget or ignore. As THE CROW defined BRANDON LEE as a sort of counter-culture hero, so shall it be with Ledger here. His Joker is an iconic, stop-the-presses triumph of angst and insanity that will inspire a generation.
Nolan manages to keep the action crisp and palpable, with several sequences eliciting cheers from my audience. The action set-pieces - which are such based on their personal import rather than CGI effects - are staged and edited together wonderfully, with an only complaint coming from certain scenes in which it is difficult to ascertain the events.
The narrative, which borders ominously on the good side of incomprehensible, is labyrinthine and dense. This layering of the story pays off handsomely in the later stages of the plot. Insightful and attentive viewers are rewarded with a terrific finale that handles all of the interwoven storylines with cleverness and care. It is a rare and beautiful thing to see a comic book film treat its subject matter and its audience with respect, but THE DARK KNIGHT does so majestically.
In a summer filled with comic book adaptations that span the spectrum from excellent (IRON MAN) to decent (THE INCREDIBLE HULK) to awful (SPEED RACER), THE DARK KNIGHT has challenged expectations with a masterwork that achieves greatness. To call it a comic book film is too limiting; THE DARK KNIGHT is a great, great film.
