The Dark Knight - Saving His Best For Last
The Dark Knight A-
Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Maggie Gyllenhaal
Directed by Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace
Appropriate for ages 15+
The Story: The vigilante superhero Batman (Bale) has all but ended crime throughout Gotham City when a new villain who calls himself The Joker (Ledger) makes a move to bring anarchy and chaos to the peaceful city. Batman's alter ego (Bruce Wayne) decides that it is time to end the career of the caped crusader and wishes to instill power into Gotham's district attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart). Even though Dent has a romantic involvement with his true love Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), Wayne knows that he truly holds the key to retiring Batman and bringing lasting peace. Unfortunately for them all, The Joker has completely different plans.
The Good: It is hard to imagine a more anticipated movie this year than Dark Knight. Not even Indiana Jones had the buzz felt worldwide for this superhero crime drama. With Ledger's passing, and the stories told of the madness that this film might have driven him to, many people are more than just a little curious about what could go down as a legendary film. What most people want to know is - is Ledger really as good as they are saying? The answer here is an absolute yes. Ledger's Joker is one of the most complex and disturbing characters to ever grace the silver screen, and I truly believe that this was talent driven and not just the result of good writing. He was able make me scared, make me laugh, and even make me shed a tear when I realized that this was the last we'll ever see of him. I'm not sure if he will win the Oscar posthumously, but I certainly hope that he does.
The production and direction of the film was strong, as was expected. The stunts, special effects, explosions, sound, and score all made for a thrilling adventure that will be the cause for many return visits. The complex plot will also get many folks to see the film multiple times. It's not that you can't appreciate it from one visit, but this is a convoluted story that I firmly believe demands at least a second viewing.
The Bad: While most of the cast turn in excellent performances, there were many supporting characters that flat-out shouldn't have been in the film. Some of the mob bosses must have been friends of Nolan, because I don't think that a production this big would have allowed some of these small roles to make it through casting. Almost as a rule, if Eric Roberts is in the film, it can't be good. While that rule doesn't apply here, that doesn't mean his performance was up to snuff. The biggest disappointment was Maggie Gyllenhaal as the replacement for Katie Holmes as the pseudo love interest. While Maggie is normally very good, her performance here just didn't really seem right.
I must also give a warning to parents that this is not a good film for kids. This feels very much like a R rated film, and I'm sure that they did just enough to get the rating down to PG-13. It is not only very violent, but incredibly disturbing as well.
The Summary: While it has it's small flaws, this new Batman installment is an impressive motion picture, largely made so by the performance of a greatly-missed talent.
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