Dark Knight Review

Every couple of years, a movie rises above the normal levels of hype to become an event- something everyone has to see, just because everyone else is going to see it. A few years ago it was The Matrix: Reloaded, and before that The Phantom Menace. Now, the hype has fallen on The Dark Knight, the Chris Nolan-directed follow up to Batman Begins, starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. The film triumphs where the other two Must See Sequels fail because while they steered their franchises down different paths, The Dark Knight inherits Batman Begins's black heart, and ratchets up the level to the type of nihilism rarely (if ever) seen in a summer blockbuster.

The lion's share of this darkness comes from Ledger, whose performance as The Joker is definitive and entrancing. It's impossible, or at least not recommended, to look anywhere else when Ledger jangles about on screen, walking the line between insanity and death with total abandon. An attack dog with a switchblade, he exists not to avenge some long-lost love or fulfill some prophecy, but to fuck shit up. The best laid plans of mice and men often fall awry, and Ledger is here to make sure they do with dynamite.

The plot itself focuses on the concept of justice, seen from three angles. Eckhart's ill-fated Harvey Dent tries to achieve it with rule of law, Bale's Batman tries with fists and gadgets (though he theoretically agrees with Eckhart), and The Joker just tries to blow everything up. It's this last strategy that's most effective, bringing endless frustration to anyone who tries to control it, including Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordan and Maggie Gyllenhall's Rachel Daws. Gyllenhall, a welcome improvement over Katie Holmes, is just out of reach for all male protagonists, no matter how close they seemingly get. She displays something neither Bale, Ledger, or Eckhart posses- a balanced view of human nature. While sure, she's a good person, she's not going to put on silly looking clothes or hold someone at gunpoint to prove her point. And the City of Gotham- or at least the three men who it's fate in their hands- have no time for anything but full throttle.

The same cannot be said, thankfully, for Chris Nolan, who also co-wrote the script. With his excellent sense of pacing and timing (the characters are given just enough time to brood and just enough to kick ass), well thought out action sequences, and beautiful shots (even better in IMAX), Nolan can now make his claim to be the Best Director in Hollywood. While everyone else is still attempting to digest the effects of 9/11- living with powerful and opposing mindset- Nolan has moved beyond, that, bringing to the screen fear without purpose, destruction that, in the words of Michael Caine's Alfred, only wants "to make the world burn. Like Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood, no matter how talented the other players are in this film- and they are all remarkably talented, Ledger's performance dominates everything in it's path. With superhero movies even more numerous then when Batman Begins was released, The Dark Knight, moves beyond its genre siblings by probing deeper with better talent. The Dark Knight doesn't just blur the line between blockbuster and psychological turmoil, it obliterates it an furry of machine-guns and loud explosions.

Loose thoughts
-The most depressing mainstream ending since The Empire Strikes Back. The Joker wins, now only the facade of justice can remain.
-The intersection of technology and psychology is interesting, especially the use of sonar with Batman's eyes. When using it, his eyes turn white, as if possessed by the Devil. And he is, in more ways then one.
-Nolan has said The Joker's look was inspired by Francis Bacon, and it contrasts very effectively with the very clean (at least, when things aren't exploding) feeling of Gotham.
-Hans Zimmer (who scored Batman Begins) and James Newton Howard (best composer in Hollywood, ever since his amazing score of The Village. Seriously, look up that soundtrack.) find the tone of the film- explosion, brood, explosion- perfectly. The score doesn't distract, and only drives the action when its needed.