Classic Movie Review: 'The Dark Knight'

The death of Heath Ledger casts a pall over the proceedings of The Dark Knight. Watching his performance as the maniacal Joker we are riveted and frightened and, in the end, left exhilarated. And once it is over the sadness sets in. Knowing we will never get to see that talent displayed in full ever again is an incalculable loss. Nevertheless, The Dark Knight is an extraordinary thrill ride. A down and dirty gangster movie, not far off of the real life depths of say American Gangster, only with a guy dressed as a bat.

Establishing himself as the most indelible of all caped crusaders, Christian Bale returns in The Dark Knight as Batman and his playboy alter-ego Bruce Wayne. For the past three years, with the aid of detective Jim Gordon, Batman has swept the streets of Gotham clean. Now, with the arrival of golden boy district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) there seems to be light at the end of the bat tunnel.

Harvey Dent Gotham's Golden Boy

Dent isn't afraid to be the public face of the new Gotham City and his willingness to stand face to face with organized crime has Batman considering retirement. He just needs one last major bust. An Asian financier named Lao is now in control of most of the mob's assets. Getting Lao could bring down all of Gotham's organized crime. Ah, if only it were that simple.

With resources dwindling, Gotham's criminals have no choice but to turn to a maniacal newcomer. Wearing clown makeup and a permanent smile cut into his flesh, The Joker even scares the bad guys. However, his promise to kill the Batman and his not wanting to cut into their profits makes Joker an unsteady but necessary criminal ally.

The Joke is on Everyone

The Joke is on everyone. Joker doesn't care for money or power, his goal is anarchy and societal devolution. He wants to bring humanity back to its basic inhumanity. A Darwinist, kill or be killed world is Joker's aim. Thus his crimes each involve a crisis of morals and a guaranteed body count no matter whether the path of the righteous is chosen or not. For Batman to defeat the Joker what morals will he have to compromise? What lines will he have to cross? And, how many innocent people are going to die?

If you aren't riveted just by the ideas that Christopher Nolan places at the center of The Dark Knight you simply don't have a pulse. Much the same as the Saw movies turn on morality and immorality, humanity versus inhumanity, The Dark Knight lingers on the same themes and delivers something so much more thoughtful than you expect from a summer popcorn superhero movie.

Why So Serious?

Heath Ledger's Joker embodies the conflicts he creates by being off balance and constantly seeming as if his head might explode from the many dark ideas rattling around in there. Listen closely when he describes the scars on his face. He offers a different version of the story each time but always with the chilling catchphrase 'Why So Serious.'

Christian Bale is the best of the Batman bunch. Where Keaton's Batman was edgy and a bit jokey and Val Kilmer's was stiff and stuffy, Bale's Batman is meticulously color free. He exists as a human weapon and when forced to be something more than a blunt instrument he struggles. Part of why Bale succeeds more than others is because other Batman's didn't have the complex storytelling of Jonathan and Christopher Nolan to back them up. But do not underestimate what Bale brings to Batman and Bruce Wayne. His seeming effortlessness masks a devastating complexity of character.

Epic Filmmaking

The Dark Knight is epic filmmaking, well beyond the bounds of any comic book preconceptions. The complexity of its ideas combined with the genuine thrills of the action and effects are like nothing we have ever seen before. Following as it did in 2008, Spiderman, Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight played like the evolution of the superhero from entertainment to genuine artistry.

Even as we now have a new, and quite good, Batman, the shadow of The Dark Knight remains long and lingering. Christian Bale's take on the character remains the Gold standard for the character and Heath Ledger's Joker is unsurpassed by any performance in any superhero film. It may be too recent to truly assume classic status but, for me, The Dark Knight is an all timer, one of my favorite films ever.