The Dark Knight (2008)
Director
Christopher Nolan
Writer
Christopher and Jonathon Nolan
Cast
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Cane and Morgan Freeman
Alright. Right now it's 5:15 A.M. and I'm tired as hell and I would love nothing else but to go to bed. But no, here I am sitting on my computer typing my review of my most anticipated movie of the decade because that's how damn loyal I am to it. I didn't update everyone on every little piece of news on 'The Dark Knight' just to blow-off this review. I'm sticking to my guns and staying up as late as it takes to publish this review.
"...and here we... GO!"
I drove an hour-and-a-half to another state just for 'The Dark Knight' IMAX experience. Not only that but I arrived there two-and-a-half hours early. Already seeing a line of people form made me a little nervous about getting a decent seat, but my wife and I decided to get a bite to eat. The line grew three-times as long by the time we were done, but luckily they opened the doors to the room and we got seats right in the middle!
Before I went into the room though there were of course people dressed up as The Joker, Batman, Joker's thugs and Poison Ivy. Only one costume really impressed me and it was one of Batman. When asked where they got the costume he replied that he bought it piece-by-piece and it added up to almost $2000! Someone asked "Wow! Are you rich?" and they answered "No... not at all."
We sat in the theater seats for a couple of hours just to secure our spots so obviously everyone was pretty bored. That's when a guy in a junky Batman outfit with electrical-tape wrapped around his neck was sending paper notes to various people dressed at the Joker trying to instigate a "fight." The Joker-clad guy looked at the note and laughed as the junky Batman stood there straight-faced.
Alright... I'm getting to the review now. Just a warning. I'm revealing MASSIVE SPOILERS so if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to know what happens then don't read any further. The only reason I'm doing this is because I think most of everyone has watched it by now that has any interest in reading this.
One thing I love about this series is the continuity. At the beginning we see Scarecrow causing trouble with a army of fake Batmen (taken from the graphic novel The Dark Knight Strikes Again.) Also, rather than having a new love interest in the sequel like the older series, Batman is still infatuated with his childhood sweetheart who happens to be seeing another man since Wayne seems he'll never give up his mantel as Batman.
The first part of the film was impressive even though I've already watched it about 20-times on my Batman Begins blu-ray disc. All I have to say, from the years of reading various Batman comics and stories... this is the definitive Joker. Everything you remember about Jack Nicholson should be washed away from your memory after sitting through five-minutes of Ledger's performance. He dances a fine line between prankster and homicidal maniac with superb balance. Every scene that he is in will entertain and creep-out which is exactly his purpose!
He is phenomenal.
He spins different stories of how he received his scars on his mouth. One was from an abusive father, the other was from himself trying to help his wife's depression. Of course we're not supposed to know his origin as he prefers his past to be "multiple choice" as he states in The Killing Joke.
He described himself perfectly. He's like a "dog chasing a car; once he catches it he doesn't know what else to do." Joker has no motivation and is only there to entertain himself. This is the essance of Joker and Batman's relationship. Neither one can kill the other or it'd just be like killing themselves. When Joker quotes Jerry Maguire's "You complete me." to Batman, it's not just for laughs; it's the truth!
That's why I love the fact that Joker lives through Batman saving him. In Batman Begins he leaves Ra's Al Ghul to his death which is very uncharacteristic of him and he has learned from it. Joker almost met the same demise as Nicholson from Batman '89 but this movie actually captures the true Batman.
This movie also deals with another major character and a much more sympathetic one: Harvey "Two-Face" Dent. Batman see's Dent as the man who will take over his job and he can live the rest of his life as Bruce Wayne in peace, but Joker proves everyone is able to be corrupted. He's a very charasmatic District Attorney who is dedicated to bringing down crime in Gotham and through Eckhart's performance you feel his drive and desire to change things which makes things all the more tragic.
This is one of my only problems with the film; his turn as Two-Face didn't flow very well for me. After an interesting speech from Joker he decides to go on a kill-crazy revenge plot, but this is a simple squabble on my part. His make-up/CGI burn effects were astonishing yet supremely grotesque especially for a PG-13 film. Hell, that leaked concept art I posted a while back was tame compared to the actual face.
Batman, yes Batman... it is his movie after all (although I think Oldman and Eckhart had as much screentime as Bale, if not more!) He shows his persistance while also showing that he is still human, like when he stitching up his wound after a dog bit him. Wayne's desire to give up the Batman-gig is a profound concept that was never explored in the original series and it makes a lot of sense. His thought process while becoming Batman was probably not intended to be long-term and he's learned in The Dark Knight that will may be never-ending.
As the final scene of Batman Begins hints of escalation, it now seems out of control. Once Batman takes up his mantal as The Dark Knight then he gives birth to his rogue villian such as Joker and Two-Face. They are willing to take equal extremes in un-doing everything Batman as ever done. This is a recurring theme that's in the comic series which adds a certain depth to it. In the end nobody wins.
Oldman as James Gordon is like it was in Batman Begins... he IS Gordon! I was shocked to see that Gordon "died" in the assassination attempt, but once he came back, held a shotgun to the back of Joker's head and arrested him, everyone in the theater errupted in APPLAUSE! Once of the coolest theater experiences in my life.
If Nolan returns for a third film, which I pray to God that he will, it'll be interesting to see where he goes from here. Last I read was that both Joker and Two-Face were going to live and Two-Face would be the central villian in the third film. Now since Ledger has passed and the Two-Face character has died the next film will be unpredictable. Although I feel Ledger is the definitive Joker, the character will need to be recurring since it's already established that he will be in The Dark Knight. I have nothing but the upmost respect for Ledger's performance and would love nothing more than to see him take the role again, but from a realistic stand-point I would like to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt be cast in the film. First off he's a very talented young actor, he looks a lot like Ledger and he's actually worked with Ledger before. I feel it would be a seamless, yet respectful casting.
That last action piece was spectacular! Batman taking out henchmen AND S.W.A.T. team members! Holy shit! I also loved the touch with the Sonar technology on this particular scene; Batman with his trademark white-eyes? Hellz yeah!
Most of the action is real... yeah hard to believe a real building blowing up and real helicopters exploding, isn't it? Nolan is a film-maker with great taste and he knows subtle CGI is what works best. Everyone in Hollywood needs to take notice.
Everywhere heroes they are looked upon as protectors of evil, but once they make a mistake they are cast out quickly. As much good as people try to do it will never be satisfactory. But that's what heroes are, as Alfred Pennyworth said: "They endure."
This is such a great film and is definitely groundbreaking in the superhero genre. The Dark Knight is without a doubt the most faithful and best comic book adaption ever. Nothing feels better as a fan of Batman seeing the source material depicted on screen in a respectful and serious manner and it actually living up to the massive hype.
10/10
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