Ah, the thrill of being in a packed theater for a midnight release. Of course, the most successful such screenings involve people in various states of costume, from full Joker regalia to a simple black cape. Unfortunately, it has been ages since I have been to one on this scale, my normal thirty minute window to get the prime seats was foiled by ne\’er do wells who obviously waited till the last second to get their tickets. Fortunately, it was so big that extra screens were dedicated to the event and after switching theaters, I was able to obtain an acceptable seat. The atmosphere was fantastic and it is why I enjoy certain kinds of film on opening night.

Now that the little introductory bit is out of the way, a warning: This review will be more spoilery than most of my reviews.

 

The Dark Knight is a brilliant, ambitious, and brooding film. It is almost perfect and as close as Hollywood has gotten to perfect with a live action film in quite some time. I will get to that key word - almost - in a bit.

Starting pretty much on the heels of Batman Begins, making Gotham Knight completely unnecessary, this movie opens with possibly the best bank heist in the history of film. This is our introduction to the Joker, that mad clown prince of crime, who has been hitting mob banks to frighten the crime lords of Gotham. Batman, himself, is introduced tying up a few loose ends from the end of the first film. As the caped crusader struggles to get crime under control and to figure out if Harvey Dent is the hero that can allow him to retire his high tech gear, the Joker starts a masterful gambit to introduce a new class of criminal to the gothic metropolis.

The plot is the most ambitious part of the film. It is the area where the film breaks new ground. This, even more so then its predecessor, is the first movie to really take an adult look at the world of costumed heroes. I am hesitant to call Batman a Superhero. His only powers are through great gadgets and deep pockets. Sure he fights the good fight and even wrestles with the occasional super villain, but as shown here, the character works best as a detective and a street level, reality based hero. Given the resources of Bruce Wayne, any man could be Batman. As to the adult content, it is not that this is a graphic film although it does have a relentless menacing that broaches that territory. What the film does, more than Sin City or V For Vendetta before it, is treat its subject matter as worthy of being a mature film. The plot is complex and intelligent. The double crosses, subterfuge, and plausibility of every character’s actions and thought processes are completely believable, surprising and intertwined in a way that is not sophomoric.

The themes of the movie befit the property portrayed. It extensively meditates on the true nature of the hero. Superman, as in comic publishing history, brought about the golden age of the super hero. He inspires greatness out of people. It has to do with his rearing, his philosophy, and the nature of his hometown, Metropolis. Sure Metropolis has its fair share of problems and criminals, but Superman protects the greatest city in his world. Gotham is Metropolis’ mirror image- it is a city that has surpassed its time. It wallows in filth and has become a playground for criminal activity. This of course spawns the eponymous knight, but when Batman approaches the problem, he inspires a greater sort of criminal. The common thug or mobster isn’t enough of a challenge for Batman. Bruce Wayne’s keen intellect and merciless mission needs a different kind of villain. He requires someone who doesn’t play by a set of rules or some kind of misguided since of honor. In a mob controlled city, there is a code that is followed; criminals know not to mess with the puppet masters. In the actions of Harvey Dent, we see what a real and dedicated hero can do. That kind of fearless public leader, like Elliot Ness, can find a way to take down that system in our very flawed judicial process.

Dent is shown as a different kind of hero. He has a face and is still not afraid of those at large. He will do what is right, because it is just, because it needs to be done. This is a virtue that is missing from Batman who is out for vengeance and from Jim Gordon who is trying to work from within a corrupt situation. Dent is shown to be the savior of Gotham, in the words of Gordon he “is not the hero that Gotham deserves, but the hero it needs.” On the other side of the coin is the Batman: a fearsome force of nature, a reaction to what Gotham has become and what it can do. He is there to get pay back for a wrong and as such he works outside the system. His methods attract a more flamboyant criminal and thus the Joker is born.

The Joker tells several different versions of his origin in the film and it is in this that the brilliance of the script is revealed. It is in this rule less and lawless mastermind that Batman is most destructive. He is an answer to the rule that Batman tries to enforce with vigilant fervor. What does the man with one rule do against a madman who really only desires the abolition of that rule. It is a poetic fight that has entranced comic readers for decades and now is on display for the general public.

Heath Ledger has been much discussed and as a retailer, I’ll be honest the talk of his performance before the release made me want him to be bad. Sorry, a death is not enough to invoke some kind of awe from me. Especially for an actor that I only remember being in two very flawed but entertaining films (for those counting, these would be A Knight’s Tale and The Brothers Grimm), if he was in other movies I have seen I don’t remember his performance. So his death didn’t strike me as the kind of celebrity martyrdom that was every bit deserved for someone like James Dean. The constant questioning of what I thought of a performance I was months away from seeing were irritating. Unfortunately for my nefarious desire to see him flounder, I do have a bit of an evil side to me, Ledger turns in a stunning performance. Is it Oscar worthy, I am unsure. It is after all a comic book character, it is a persona and while he steals the movie in every scene he is in, I am unsure as to his place in the actors who have portrayed the evil clown. His take is different; it is not the same character as Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero. The brilliance of his character is actually due to Nolan and Goyer\’s script, their take strips the character down to his core and puts a twist on the purple suited criminal that is at once more believable and menacing. Ledger does steal every scene he is in, thank god for great direction and scripting to allow the performance.

Other performances are solid as well, from the trio of returning major players – Bale, Caine, and Freeman. However, Eckhart who does a great job as Two Face, oops let that one out of the bag, just never quite pulls off Harvey Dent, D.A. It is like he is waiting to sink his teeth in to the insane scorned villain and only playing the fierce attorney as a means to an end. The other problematic performance is Gyllenhaal. At this point, I have been so harsh on actresses this summer that I am afraid of being dubbed a misogynist, but hear me out. Rachel Dawes is a character that was created for Batman Begins and as such the strong performance by Katie Holmes defined the character. The script and direction leads Gyllenhaal to be a bubbly, fun and head over heels in love character when we first meet her in the sequel. It is an odd choice for the brooding and introspective tone that was put in place by Homes and is jarring. Eventually, the transition is made and Dawes returns to her characteristics from the first film and the performance even close matches the one that defined the character. I assume there was some kind of logical reason that the script chose to portray her this way, but it was lost on this viewer.

Those two performances are only somewhat problematic. There are actually bigger flaws with the movie that get us back to that discussion on the word “almost”. The first problem with the film is its length. It is a long movie at 152 minutes and unfortunately it feels that long. Part of it is the dark and moody tone of the film, especially the last third of the movie that pretty much abandons the tension breaking humor of the first two thirds. The third act is a relentless menacing tale of heroes betrayed and manipulated and is probably the best part of the film, but it makes a film that has already seen a natural conclusion seem to kind of drag on. Some of this is due to the ambitious script. This could have easily been made into two films. I do not think it would have hurt the film at all. The first movie had a segue into this movie and the ending of this film seems to logical beg for a sequel and given the hype and crowds present for the first screenings, I am sure we will see one.

The other part of the length issue may resolve itself when I view the movie in the IMAX format. It has been stated that there is a substantial amount of footage that was filmed in the larger than life format. There are these wide and lingering scenes of tall buildings and cityscapes that I am sure impress on a ten story tall screen, but in a regular theater, they add to the length of the film and do not really progress the plot. Seriously, how many times do we need to see the Gotham Knight standing atop the tallest building in sight? I am sure they also are supposed to give a size and feel to Gotham and Hong Kong, but that part of the milieu is well explored differently and in more meaningful scenes elsewhere in the film.

The biggest flaw of the movie stinks of Dues Ex Machina and really drags the film from its great film potential. The big action sequence of the film deals with a prisoner transfer that ends with a showdown between our Vigilante hero and his nemesis. The very last bit of this sequence that results in the Joker being captured by the police reveals that a previous conceit of the film was all a trap for the Joker, the problem is that there is a massive build up to Bruce possibly turning himself in before this reveal. By circumstance he is given a chance that he seizes that allows him not to have to unmask. Either this was an extremely well thought out plot that predicted what the Joker would do after a stunning death in the film or it is a plot hole. Unfortunately, it is not addressed in plot or dialogue and moves from the realm of convenience and lazy plotting into an error. It is a huge gaffe and actually diminishes the film as a result. This regulates the film to a near miss at greatness instead of moving it into the realm of a masterpiece.

This is a powerful and thoughtful comic book movie. It may very well be the best comic adaptation ever. It certainly holds up better than V For Vendetta and it is riskier than the more crowd pleasing Iron Man, which because of the nature of the character will hold onto its title as reigning king of the super hero film. If you are a fan of Batman, you will love this film. If you are a fan of rollercoaster ride thrillers, you will love this movie. You just might want to lower your expectations just a bit; it will make the film a better experience if you do.