Six months after donning the black cape of Batman, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) finds the city of Gotham still on the brink of disaster. Criminals are afraid to do their work at night, but it hasn't stopped them from trying. Various Batman copycats are trying to emulate him, but without his training or particular moral code, and quite often they end up dead or injured themselves. And worst of all, a deadly psychopath with a sick sense of human calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) has appeared and gleefully and violently driving the city into chaos. Yet out of this darkness shines hope for the future in a trio of men dedicated to saving Gotham: the incorruptable officer Jim Gordon; impassioned attorney Harvey Dent; and the Dark Knight himself.
After Joel Schumacher's infamous flop Batman and Robin single-handedly torpedoed a promising film series, the future of a cinematic Batman was in doubt. Of course he would return -- a character this popular was bound to come back -- but it was a project full of dropped projects and dead ends. However, when the series finally did return, it returned in the hands of the incredibly talented up-and-coming Christopher Nolan, hot off a pair of excellent Memento and Insomnia. His approach to Batman Begins was a (mostly) terrific surprise -- an intelligent, compelling tale that emphasized complex characterizations over action and special effects while still delivering plenty of imagination and excitement. (Which was good, because the action scenes were hit-and-miss; some, like the dock sequence and the car chase, were vivid, clever scenes, but too many of the fight scenes were rendered incomprehensible by the shaky-cam/fast-cut style so unfortunately popular) Strong word of mouth not only propelled it to a strong box office performance, but created a surprisingly widespread fanbase after it DVD release.
Despite some misgivings from the fans, the hype for The Dark Knight was incredible. Sure, Heath Ledger seemed like a strange choice for the Joker, but insiders claimed to be astonished at the result and the trailers were dazzling, more thrilling and powerful in three minutes than most Hollywood films are in three hours. And Ledger's shocking, untimely death raised a whole new level of interest as one of the last performances of a talented actor.
Remarkably, it lived up to the hype. The Dark Knight is a tremendous film in every way. As a crime drama, it's as powerful a tale as has ever been brought to the screen. As a personal tragedy, it's devastating. As an action film, it's exhilarating. Most importantly, though, it manages to do all that and still be fun. More than anything, I worried that with all its darkness, all its violence, all its sadness, it would drain away the enjoyment. It didn't. It has lots of sadness, but it's also thrilling, funny, and genuinely inspiring.
There's really not enough good to be said about the cast. Christian Bale's gravelly voice for Batman was criticized by some, but it's an effective and believable choice for the character at this point in his career. More importantly, his Bruce Wayne is superbly handled. Wayne is not only playing Batman, but even as himself, he's playing a part for others. He can't be the kind of upstanding citizen Batman should be; instead, he acts as a spoiled rich kid. Bale adds an interesting element here: there's a sense that the act is starting to spill into his own personality because he never gets to be himself except around Alfred (as whom Michael Caine is exactly the tower of strength you expect). Meanwhile, under the mask of the Bat is a tortured, fascinating individual trying desperately not to kill or become too violent -- not becoming the very people he is hunting.
Opposing him is Heath Ledger's Joker. Ledger's variation on the character makes the humor a lot more subtle and emphasizes the violent, chaotic intensity. It makes for a terrifying individual, but the pitch-black humor that defines the Joker is still there. His "pencil trick" is the most obvious of these, but multiple viewings reveal a great many jokes hidden because he often tells the punchline to the joke long before the set-up (which, of course, is already planned out in his devious head). Ledger's strange delivery, sometimes-graceful, sometimes-abrupt movements, and terrifying laugh makes the villain as edgy as any cinematic psychopath. He isn't my favorite Joker -- that would be Mark Hamill's whacked-out interpretation from the 90's Batman: The Animated Series -- but he's perfect for this film.
Supporting them, Aaron Eckhart makes Harvey Dent the most sympathetic and tragic character in the film. He's not only an incredibly likable guy, but every bit the upstanding man Batman is, and without the violence or darkness. But hidden underneath is a man who really is on the edge. He flips a two-headed coin to make impossible decisions; it seems like a good plan -- heads, you do the right thing, and it's always heads. But he keeps throwing himself into those decisions. He's playing with fire, and the Joker knows he only needs the right push to cross the line.
Unlike a lot of viewers, I actually rather liked Katie Holmes as Bruce Wayne's love interest in Batman Begins. She brought a likable innocence and some hidden strength to the role. But Maggie Gyllanhall is a superb replacement; she makes Rachel Dawes her own. Morgan Freeman returns to play Lucius Fox, Batman's quivalent to Q, and again brings his always wonderful presense to a dark tale in need of his warmth. Cillian Murphy has a nice return cameo as the Scarecrow. The supporting cast is peppered with great character actors who never seem to get into good movies any more -- Eric Roberts, Michael Jai White, Anthony Michael Hall.
Best of all, though, is Gary Oldman as Gordon. Oldman is best known for his wildly over-the-top scenery-chewing in stuff like True Romance, Leon the Professional, and Immortal Beloved. Jim Gordon is an entirely different character -- a quiet, introverted man who is nearly as full of fear as he is of courage. Even more so than Batman, he's the moral center of the film. Oldman underplays the role brilliantly and grounds the story. Like with Batman Begins, it's hard to believe that he's even more effective at this sort of subtle role than his usual delightful wackiness.
It helps all the actors, of course, that the script by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan is so strong. The film reminded me strongly of Heat in the way each character was really given a complete story, and these stories all blended into one superb tale. It's probably even better than Heat because none of the stories are tangents (like Natalie Portman's subplot in that film): they're all absolutely integral to the tale. Particularly moving is Harvey Dent's plot because the film makes you care so very deeply about this guy and cheer so much for him, but anyone who knows Batman knows where his future lies, and his fate hangs over him in every scene. You dread every moment he's in danger... or even when he's just being a good person, because he's going to fall from such great heights.
Of course, a Batman movie can't just be characterization; it's an escapist fantasy, full of atmosphere and action. And The Dark Knight contains some of the finest action sequences I've ever seen. The car chase may be the best ever filmed, and is certainly up there with The Road Warrior, The French Connection, and Bullitt. In fact, it may be better than Bullitt because you care so very deeply about the characters and fear so much for their safety. The fight scenes are always completely clear, never rendered confusing by editing or style -- and were superbly choreographed. They weren't choreographed with in the beautiful, dance-like way of the East and of the Wichowskis; they were rough and real. (not that I dislike balletic fight scenes; on the contrary I love them. The toughness of the fights was the right choice for this film, however.)
The climactic scene and the finale are truly what drive this film into the stratosphere; they are thrilling, but it's their meaning and depth that give the film such power. The film, in the end, is not about villains and their plots, but about heroes and asking what heroes must do to fight such villains. Unlike Burton's Batman, this is not a film about the Joker. The Joker is done as brilliantly as he could be done, but this film is about Batman, about Dent, about Gordon, about Good. And that is what makes it one of the finest films to come to theaters in many, many years. That is what raises this film from descriptions like "comic-book movie" or even "crime drama" and into the realm of great literature, of great art.
And it's really, really cool, too. All the gadgets, the gimicks, the fights, the cape, the explosions, the Batmobile (and Batcycle!), a few good one-liners, everything you want from a Batman flick. But it's a lot more than that; it's a cinematic masterpiece that proves Nolan to be one of the great film makers of our time.
I suppose you could call this the Godfather of comic-book films. It would be tempting to compare it to Godfather II because it's such a terrific sequel, but it resembles the first more because Godfather II is a gripping, immensely powerful tragedy; Godfather is a gripping, immensely powerful tragedy and a lot of fun. And that's what this is: a sweeping, powerful crime drama that's also great entertainment.
* * * *
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RATING: PG-13 for violence and language. To be honest, it probably should have gotten a light R. The violence isn't bloody, per se, but it's extremely intense and packs a heck of a punch. That's not a criticism of the film itself, but just yet another case of the MPAA giving out improper ratings (and likely due to more than a dose of studio influence).
BUDGET: $185 million.
BOX OFFICE: A genuine blockbuster that not only had a record-breaking opening weekend of $158 million, but had enough legs to carry it to $530 million in the US, and nearly as much internationally.
IMDB.COM RATING: 8.9, currently the #12 film of all time on their site.
CRITICAL CONSENSUS: They loved it every bit as much as audiences. 93% positive on rottentomatoes.com, and a rating of 82 on metacritic.com. Many critics named it the best or one of the best of 2008.
AWARDS: Nominated for eight Academy Awards, winner of two -- Supporting Actor (Ledger) and Sound Editing. However, despite the universal praise and massive popularity of the film, it failed to get nominations for Best Picture or Director, which more than anything prompted the revamping of the awards the next year, where the Best Picture category was expanded to 10 nominees so these sorts of snubs were less likely. Outside of the Oscars, Heath Ledger posthumously won virtually every supporting actor award on the planet and probably several that didn't even exist beforehand and were specifically created for his unforgettable performance. The film itself was nominated for approximately 117 million awards and won about 83 million of those.
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