Batman: The Dark Knight

It is incredibly difficult to begin to critique a film like The Dark Knight. The amount of hype that was built up around the film prior to its release was to the point of absurdity and was only heightened by the tragic death of Heath Ledger. This unfortunate event will be inextricably tied to the film and has created as much, if not more, interest in the film as the return of both Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan to their respective roles of lead actor and director.

It's a testimony to his skill as an actor and his dedication to the role that I only once was reminded that the Joker was played by the late Australian, as the Joker plunged to his seeming death from a tall building. The thought was brushed aside as a grappling hook brought the Joker back for one last exchange of dialogue. It should be sufficient to note that Ledger's performance is brilliant and deserves every ounce of Oscar buzz that has been generated over the last couple weeks. This is Ledger's finest performance and, if it had to be his final performance, it was a good one to go out on. Hopefully The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus won't ruin things, though I have faith in Terry Gilliam.

There were plenty of skeptical people, myself included, when he was first announced for the role. My introduction to Ledger was the underrated 10 Things I Hate About You, where he proved he could add depth to the typical pretty-boy. His subsequent roles in The Patriot and A Knight's Tale certainly did nothing to shake his pretty-boy image, but he increased his respectability, as well as his notoriety, with fine performances in Brokeback Mountain and Casanova in 2005. Still, many wondered whether he would be able to play the Joker, especially given the classic portrayal of the character by Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's original Batman. The first teaser trailer did little to assuage these fears, as he initially sounded as if he was aping Nicholson's voice. The first publicity photos that were released also caused some concern among fans.

For me, those fears were laid to rest when I saw I Am Legend in IMAX. The opening scene of The Dark Knight played out in its entirety and completely destroyed any concerns I had with Ledger's performance. He completely stole every scene he appeared in, from shoving a pencil through a guy's skull (it's magic!) to openly laughing in Batman's face as he throws him around an interrogation room, to cross-dressing as a nurse in Gotham General, the Joker had myself and everyone else in the room laughing at all the wrong moments, perfectly portraying the Joker and erasing the Jack Nicholson-era Joker from everyone's mind.

Now, the Joker was easily the highlight of the film, but pretty much every review of The Dark Knight contains little more than continuous praise for Ledger's performance. So, I'm done. No more rave reviews for Ledger in this review.

Nolan's first bat-film, the origin re-writing Batman Begins, dealt with the theme of fear. This time around, the theme is on the nature of good and evil. The Joker clearly shows the side of evil, with Batman representing the side of good (a particularly grey area of good, but good nonetheless). In between the two, lies Harvey Dent, who is introduced as Gotham's white knight, the crusading District Attorney out to clean up the streets of Gotham City and get rid of the gangs and mobs that control them. With so much interest being paid to Batman and the Joker, it was surprising to realize that the film was really about neither of them, instead focusing on the rise and fall of Harvey Dent.

Aaron Eckhart puts in a fantastic performance, giving his portrayal a keen edge that makes his transition to the insane Two-Face near the end of the film entirely believable. There's an undercurrent of anger in his pursuit of justice, seen clearly well before half of his face is burned off, as he punches a witness in the face in a court proceeding (he was attempting to shoot Harvey at the time) and later beating a paranoid schizophrenic in the Joker's employ in an attempt to get information. In public, however, Harvey Dent is that white knight, and even convinces Batman himself. This makes his fall a tragic one, but one that is unfortunately not pulled off perfectly.

The main issue I have with this film is in the character of Rachel Dawes. While Maggie Gyllenhaal certainly gives a better performance in the role than Katie Holmes, the character seems entirely superfluous. It seems her entire purpose for being in the film is to provide a mild dose of romantic tension and a reason for Harvey Dent to go insane. She's just not believable as a character and, unfortunately, I felt no sense of loss when she died. Because of this, it was far more difficult than it should have been to sympathize with Harvey Dent as he became Two-Face. In order to make him a fully-sympathetic villain, the audience has to feel the same way as he does about Rachel's death. As callous as it may seem, there wasn't much reason for the audience to empathize with her death. With the Joker in the movie, the deaths come fast and furious through the first half of the film, so by the time we reach Rachel's death, it's just another added to the list.

I only have one other issue with The Dark Knight: Christian Bale's notorious bat-voice. While I understand the reason's behind it (it's a way not only for Batman to be more intimidating but to disguise Bruce Wayne's voice), it got intensely annoying towards the end of the film. Batman Begins got away with it because Batman did not have any lengthy conversations while in costume. The Dark Knight is not so lucky in this respect. He and Commissioner Gordon exchange words several times and he has a lengthy interrogation scene with the Joker; both made me wonder how Batman avoided going into a coughing fit from having to growl so much.

Now, if this was just a minor annoyance, I might not even mention it. Instead, it feels like a misunderstanding of the character. In the comics, it has long been held that Batman is the real face of the character and Bruce Wayne the playboy is the mask. The view is that Batman is who he really is and that he merely acts as Bruce Wayne. The origin story we see in Batman Begins supports this view, as Bruce Wayne does not even know how to act like Bruce Wayne when he returns to Gotham. Eventually he learns to play up his playboy personality to throw off suspicion and to provide an easy alibi. The bat-voice, on the other hand, belies this notion. It feels far too much like Bruce Wayne putting on a scary voice, playacting as Batman.

Even though I feel like it does a disservice to the character, the issues I have with Bale's bat-voice are definitely nitpicking. This is a brilliant film that deserves the high praise it has received. Despite its length, it's a remarkably tight film. Even the potential throw-away character of Reese, an accountant with Wayne Enterprises who stumbles upon the Bruce Wayne-Batman connection, becomes a crucial part of the plot as the Joker threatens to blow up a hospital unless someone kills him before he gives away Batman's secret identity. Of course, the Joker blows up the hospital without even checking if Reese was dead, but that's pretty typical of the Joker in this film.

Strangely enough, evil wins out in the end in this film. Harvey Dent is twisted by the Joker's actions and begins to play chance with the lives of those he holds responsible, flipping his famous coin to decide whether they will live or die. By the end of the film, Harvey has killed several people and threatens to kill Jim Gordon's son before being finally stopped by Batman. Good has been twisted, evil wins. The only way out for Batman and Jim Gordon that they can find is to lie, to hold Batman responsible for the murders committed by Harvey. There is one loose end, however: one of Dent's targets had the coin land good side up and knows that Dent went around the bend. I suspect that Detective Anna Ramirez (I was very much hoping her name would be Renee Montoya, but no luck) will have a role to play in the inevitable sequel.

As Stan Lee would say, "'Nuff said." Go see this movie.