Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan has been one of my favorite directors since he released his mind-bending thriller Memento. Starting at the end and ending at the beginning, Memento is an instant classic offering a different viewing experience than any other movie. When it was announced that Nolan would direct the new Batman movie in 2003, I knew the Batman franchise would be in good hands. He didn't disappoint as Batman Begins was an exceptional retelling of Batman's origin and offered the franchise new life after the debacle that was Batman & Robin. No more campiness and cheesy dialogue. No more nipples on the batsuit. No more Chris O'Donnell as Robin, thank god. Batman Begins returned Batman to the brooding, tormented man trying in vain to save Gotham City from the dark underbelly that ruined Bruce Wayne's life when he was a child. Christian Bale was perfect as Bruce Wayne as he could play both the angry, vengeful Bruce and the playboy Bruce believably. He also looked like Batman a lot more than Michael Keaton ever did. Batman Begins was instantly the best Batman movie ever made and showed great promise for future Batman movies.

Batman Begins was the best Batman movie. That title now belongs to The Dark Knight, a brilliant film that goes beyond just being a comic book movie. Once again, Nolan takes the audience to dark places, bringing up questions about society, morals, and violence. Batman does numerous good things for Gotham City, but he is a vigilante breaking the law. Should the people of Gotham reject his actions or accept them as necessary in a dangerous world? Batman never kills people when fighting crime, a line he chooses never to cross. But in the face of a villian as sinister and immoral as The Joker, should Batman consider crossing that line as it would put an ultimate end to one of Gotham's main threats? Batman has always been concerned with choosing between what is right and wrong. Bruce Wayne has struggled with his decisions, but has always ended up on what he believes is the right side morally.

The same can not be said for The Joker, played by Heath Ledger in what should be an Academy Award winning performance. Not once throughout the movie did I see Ledger on the screen. He is completely transformed into The Joker, a twisted, psychotic villain who only delights in creating mayhem. Ledger creates one of the greatest bad guys in movie history, a character you despise but can't stop watching when on screen. He can be funny and bone-chilling at the same time. The opening scene of the movie establishes who The Joker is and what one can expect from him throughout the movie. The Joker is robbing a bank with several accomplices and through manipulation gets all of them to kill one another, leaving The Joker by himself with all the money. He is a loner who cares about no one except himself. His complete disregard for life is seen throughout the film, as anyone aiding him is liable to be killed by the The Joker himself. It is a shame that Ledger passed away as The Joker could have been a great adversary for future Batman films.

Besides Ledger, the acting is once again superb. Christian Bale once again succeeds as both Bruce Wayne and Batman. Michael Caine provides much of the comic relief as the ever loyal Alfred. Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent, the "white knight" of Gotham in contrast to Batman being the "dark knight". Dent also deals with issues of right and wrong throughout the film as he wants as badly as Batman to save Gotham from its dark side. Certain circumstances challenge his beliefs and Eckhart plays the tormented D.A. well. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachael Dawes, the love interest of both Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent. She does well at questioning the actions of both men and the real reasons behind their moves. Gyllenhaal is much better than Katie Holmes was in the last movie. Gary Oldman returns as Jim Gordon, the police officer loyal to Batman in supporting his actions. Gordon is Batman's main ally, a role that puts him and his family in danger, causing even more distress for Bruce Wayne. Poor Batman has so many people to worry about that no matter what he does, someone always ends up getting hurt. And that's another example of why he is such a great, complicated character.

It has a great plot, well written characters, tremendous action scenes, and one of the greatest villains ever seen on screen. No other comic book movie is as good as The Dark Knight. No other movie this year might be as good as The Dark Knight. Christopher Nolan is a genius who reinvented a dying franchise for one of the greatest characters ever written. I can't wait to see what he has for us next time.