The Dark Knight (2008)

Ok, so the credits roll by and I sit there with a stupid grin on my face. Kind of like the Joker's, except not as menacing. I couldn't control my excitement. The movie exceeded my expectations, on all counts. Batman Begins, to me, was average, bordering on good. I gave it a 2.5 out of 5. (Don't send me death threats.) The Dark Knight is a 5 out of 5 movie. It deserves every bit of press hysteria and critical patronage even though the fans will devour it regardless of the aforementioned dual factors.

>>Aside: I can't believe Brother gave it a 3.7. But he's the worthy soul who recommended such titles as Van Helsing and AVP II. (Read sarcasm) Sister, on the other hand, gave it a generous 4.5. She complains there's not enough Christian Bale. A fair complaint but it is dismissed with the story's arc and the director's ability to shift away from condensing all the powerful hope and glory into a mythic hero such as Batman. It's what a less able director would have resorted to.

I should warn the reader of possible spoilers to come, so beware!

Let me briefly assess the storyline of this latest 'cloak and dagger' (quite literally, if you notice) superhero opera. If Batman Begins was Genesis, The Dark Knight is Revelations. Full of blues and blacks, dark and stormy as they come, it dives into the story without frills and fanfare. It has enough to stand on with the opening bank robbery and the unravelling of the mask behind the Joker. So we're introduced to Batman's arch nemesis, the one villain he would kill - in time to come. He's got to be so bad to deserve such an 'honour', right? And what a villain he is. Most of the time, I could only bite my fists in agony whenever the Joker made an entry. More of the man behind the Joker later. The city is inundated with Joker's antics, all fearsome and terrifying with impunity. No one can stop him of course, not even Batman, least of all, Harvey Dent. But the latter tries and we know what happens if one crosses the path of the Joker and takes him for just another bad guy. What Harvey refuses to grasp - and never grasps, in my opinion - is that the Joker is in a class of his own. He lives to hurt, destroy and corrupt. He is a force of (criminal) nature. This dawns on Batman and he is ready to do what it takes before everything spirals out of control - but he is mistaken of the Joker's real intentions. After bouts of soul searching and fighting his conscience, Batman gains the knowledge that makes him the better hero that he is by the end of the movie. He has matured, and like every phase of growing wiser, there comes the obligation to feel pain and suffer.

As with the previous movie, this installment of Batman has more than one villain. Perhaps it is a leitmotif that we can expect from Nolan's possible further ventures into the franchise. And the storyline is crammed to the point of bursting. Many things are going on, but we want it that way or there'd be less satisfaction for the viewers. It goes without saying that in less capable hands, everything would have shambled on and started to resemble The Matrix trilogy.

Now, the cast.

First of all, there is Batman. Christian Bale is my preferred actor to play Batman, and I'm sure I'm not the first to say this. He's already an accomplished actor, who made an impression in Empire of the Sun and went on to more and more roles wherein he's demonstrated himself to be the fine actor that he is. Give him a role and he's gonna impress you. He even maintains his impeccable American accent while giving press interviews and at premieres of the Batman movies. He's a professional. Like Sister said, there is less Bale in the film. So he makes sure he delivers when he gets the screen. I think Nolan's insistence on preserving the harsh voice of Batman has paid off in this movie. It sounds more uniform now than it did in the first one, when Bale sounds slightly queasy or squeaky at times.

And then, there's the Joker. Heath Ledger (moment of silence, if you please) said he loved playing the Joker more than any other character, and it shows. He's terribly good as the sinister dagger weilding bastard. He totally gave me the chills. It's a performance already attaining cult status because it is so worthy. Believe the hype, the hushed reverence, cos everything he does in the movie threatens to overshadow all the others... It doesn't though, what with Nolan's clear view of what the movie is all about and his ability to maintain a precarious balance throughout. Yet, I feel it's a shame that Heath is gone, now, when millions will be remembering and enjoying his turn as the Joker. It's his best performance, hands down. And you'll agree with me once you've watched the movie.

The next villain is Harvey Two-face. I didn't know who Aaron Eckhart was until I read that he was in Erin Brokovich as the hairy biker boyfriend of the eponymous heroine. And his performance was a revelation to me. That guy is pretty good, standing on his own as one of the few Americans with a prominent role in a mostly British-populated movie. Maggie Gyllenhaal as the new Rachel is a much appreciated switch of cast. I'm of the opinion that Maggie is a surprising actress, talent-wise, ever since I first watched Secretary. However, I feel she sufferes what most female characters of any importance suffer in superhero flicks. But no actress should go into such movies with aspirations to prove her acting chops. I'm sure Maggie knows that.

Gordon, the stalwart cop, the good man to a fault: Gary Oldman, an unsung actor who deserves better pay and higher accolades than what he has now, gets more screentime. And such emotional rollercoasters these occasions prove to be! Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, both typecast old-timers, get their few witty lines and wry wisdom droppings in this movie as in the previous one. Good for them. The only surprise is Eric Roberts... Who is Eric Roberts? He's Julia Roberts idiotic and equally irritating brother, It's perhaps his single claim to fame, in my opinion. I don't even want to talk about his Oscar nomination - proves everyone's point that the Oscars is utter tosh. And he just goes about doing every expression he knows - namely, one - and trying not to looked overwhelmed by the company he's in... What was that all about Christopher Nolan?

To conclude my review, The Dark Knight is, thus far, the best movie of the year.