The Dark Knight

I don't typically do movie reviews on my blog. It isn't my forte. If you want to see good reviews by a "normal" person you should see Jeeve's Blog. However I had the privileged of seeing an advanced screening of The Dark Knight last night and quite frankly it was to good not to talk about. Also of note this blog tends to be more personal recollection so while i will give my opinions of the movie, it'll be within the context of the overall experience.

That said i will NOT be discussing major plot points outside of what you can gather by seeing the trailers. I.E. you know Heath Ledger is Joker, Aaron Eckhart play Harvey Dent and if you follow batman at all you know Harvey Dent eventually becomes the villian known as two face. I have no desire to ruin the movie or give away anything like some more "professional reviewers" (p.s. dont read that review, imho Mr. Charity breaks the cardinal rule of reviewing by giving away unknown plot points in paragraph 12.

That said if you don't want to know anything. Don't read this until you see the movie.

So I shall continue and as always i like to set things up.

Last night I cashed in my Free Times tickets and got to see The Dark Knight. Amanda and I got to the theatre around 6 and it was a good thign we did. Even with the movie not beginning until 7:30 we found ourselves about fifty people back in line. Luckily it was an exceptionally large theatre so our seats were still quite choice. It's also remarkable how many press reviewers were there, close to the top half of the theatre was roped off. Finally i have to note, i bet 90% of the people there got their tickets for free and yet it's amazing how much people will still complain. Also i got tired of the people who showed up at 7:10 bitching that there were no seats. The passes clearly said (and we all had the same passes) that the theatre was INTENTIONALLY overbooked and that if you don't get there early you will not get a seat.

From a movie going experience it was quite odd. Typically you show up, the lights dim, 10 minutes of commercials (grr) 10 minutes of preview (yay) and then movie. This time the lights just shut off at 7:30, no previews, no commercials, just right into the film. It was nice.

Ok so on to the movie.

Short review -

The Dark Knight stands out as the best movie I have seen in years. I know I'm a geek and thus a comic fan but I cannot think of a film in the past 3-4 years that has captured my attention and left me wanting more as much as this one. Lord of the Rings might have been the last time i anxiously anticipated a movie and left the theatre feeling like it lived up to the hype. The Dark Knight does not just live up to the hype, it trumps it on every level. A difficult thing to do for one of the most over hyped movies ever.

Long Review -

Christian Bale returns playing the "caped crusader" but anyone who saw Batman Begins knows this batman is no Adam West, Val Kilmer, George Clooney or even Michael Keaton. Bale's batman is a deeply troubled human whose sole purpose in life is to avenge the wrongs committed to his family as a child and in doing so bring peace to a criminally infested Gotham City. He lives by a code of honor that allows him to act in only certain ways but so far his code has served him well. The gotham of the dark knight is a signifigantly better place at the films beginning than it was when we first saw Bale's batman in Batman Begins. In my opinion this batman is what Bob Cane wanted his character to be and draws heavily from the Frank Miller adaptation. That said Mr. Bale is not the highlight of this movie, rather it is the late Heath Ledger's take on the Joker that steals the show.

The movie opens with a scene involving the joker (again no major plot points here) and from that point on you are captivated. Ledger's joker is quite possibly the darkest, most sadistic and yet most utterly belivable villian the screen has scene since Hannibal Lector. It should be noted I was not the first to make that comment, but rather castmate Gary Oldman (Inspector Gordon) first made the comparison. There is no supernatural in jokers repitore, just a pension for chaos and an amazing intelliect at coming up with schemes and plans. His weapon is a knife (not a gas filled flower, or goofy face paint, or any other number of joker gadgets used in past batman takes.) Jokers reign of chaos gives the film a feeling of a movie like the usual suspects where everything is intertwined and the audience only sees the big picture at the end.

Ledger plays joker as a deranged and dark criminal mastermind who has a hint of philosopher in him. The characters multiple monologues or dialogs with batman give him a depth typically unseen in your average super hero movie. Generally superhero villians are established as the "bad guy" and obviously the hero has to fix that. Ledger is almost endeering to the audience in a sick twisted way. You find your self not only understanding his motives but somewhat supporting them yet at the same time knowing that if this man truley existed you would never want him loose on society. Most offsetting about the character is that every now and then his actions make you laugh and in doing so you think you are doing something wrong. How could you think this man is funny, with all the evil he has caused.

Also he comes across as entirley believable. His tactics are readily available to any semi-well connected terrorist in this world and you find yourself thinking what it would be like if a similar man were to inflect the horror he has on a city like New York or Chicago. It's a chilling thought, and while an argument could be made that some of his plots would be "difficult" I can't find fault in why they couldnt be done.

Finally outside of the character, Ledger's performance was remarkable. From almost inpercievable nervous ticks, to a reptilian tongue everything about him, physically and verbally, strikes you as fitting the character perfectly. A lot has been said of his chances at a posthumerous oscar for best supporting actor and I have wondered if this was just because of his untimley passing. I can honestly say it is not. I cannot imagine a better performance occuring this year. His performance in Brokeback was excellent (and I didn't particularly care for the movie.) His joker is the antihisis of that character but excels in performance in every way. If the oscars went by prominance and not billing we could throw away the word "supporting" and give Mr. Ledger best actor. He deserves it.

Finally a lot can be said for Aaron Eckhart's turn as Harvey Dent and he seems to be getting mixed reviews. Personally I think he played the character incredably well, and while he doesnt bear up to comparison with Ledger's joker neither do the characters. Dent prior to his transformation into Two-Face is a symbol of all that is good and right in Gotham City. He is working to bring down the criminal establishment with Inspector Gordon as his police presence and Batman as his muscle and enforcement. The try to set the tone that Mr. Dent is somewhat conflicted internally and is also somewhat of an oberly ambitious narcassist. However more prominnance is given to his role as the "legal guardian" and less to his character flaws. This does make his transformation to Two Face a bit less believable but not impossible.

I think Eckhart shined once he donned the costume of Two Face. The notion of chance (And the vilians well known coin) are front and center and yet presented in a way that doesnt smell of camp. He is a good supporting character but pale's in comparison to his costars. Ultimatley that is ok though because his character's importance balances out. I think what makes this character difficult is that he isnt as believable as the joker. His injuries are to obviously damaged to believe such a man could realy exist. Director Christopher Nolan avoids CGI as much as possible but i think in this case he should have toned down the makeup department as well.

Rounding out the cast are Maggie Gyllenhall, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. All of whom deliver.

So final tally. The dark knight is a gem of a film. It stands out as one of the only movies in the "superhero" genre that posses the traits that make a movie endure for ages. It is worth seeing, it is worth seeing again.