The Dark Knight, an epic superhero movie throughout

Posted on July 19th, 2008 by Mark.
Categories: Entertainment, Movies.

I couldn’t resist, I was going to hold out for Imax but the hype was just too great and I didn’t want to be spoiled as to plot details… so I had to see “The Dark Knight” this afternoon. Is it the greatest superhero movie ever made? Yes. Why? In a word, consequences. Sure there have been other superhero movies that have made attempts at the whole consequences thing, but none have ever dared to tread this deep. I know it sounds absurd considering we’re talking about a movie based on a comic book but the prices paid by the “heros” (not just Batman, but his less showy sidekicks like Gordon and Dent as well) are absolute. Their pursuit of justice at any cost bites back at them and exacts its toll.

Taking down a bunch of mob goons and a dope pushing Scarecrow is the order of business in Gotham when the movie starts and Batman and his merry band of accomplices have an easy time of it. They’re hitting the bad guys where it hurts, their wallets. Why engage in a life of crime if you’re not even going to get to enjoy the spoils? Eventhough the prosecution of the lead man of the crime syndicate goes south, it still seems like things are actually heading in a positive direction where it concerns Gotham. That is until the Joker shows up.

I cannot say enough good things about Ledger’s performance. The guy took the character and made it his own. The Joker is not cartoonish, he’s psychotic… but he’s anything but nuts. On the contrary he’s brilliant playing both the mob and law enforcement (Batman included) for chumps. He’s always a few steps ahead but his motives aren’t singular. He’s not just about beating you, he’s about making you give up every principle you’ve ever claimed to hold dear. To his credit, The Joker manages to bring everybody down to his level, including the noble Harvey Dent and Batman himself.

The action sequences are not overblown. For the most part you believe that a lot of the stuff happening in the movie could happen in a world only slightly darker than our own. What is it about the last two Batman movies, both have included some of the best chase scenes ever filmed. Still it’s all about the people in this movie and the scene where Batman interrogates The Joker is excellent. They are mirror images and that’s the thing that you have to understand to truly embrace the movie. The Joker is no more impressed with the mob than Batman is. He just has a different way of dealing with all of them, choosing to dismantle them from within. He’ll destroy them through the exploitation of their greed. He’s all about making losers of everybody and he manages that in the end. There are no winners when this thing ends and I think that might be the one thing that distinguishes this superhero movie from all of the others. There is no happy ending. In fact, like “No Country For Old Men” there really isn’t an ending at all. Heroes are made villains… and we’re left to wonder, what’s next?

I cannot wait for the next one. I don’t know how they’ll manage to dig themselves out of this hole they’ve all been put into. The saddest thing though is when the credits start to roll and you realize that Ledger is gone and we’ll never see him as The Joker again. It’s a damned shame.

The direction is great, the movie crisply shot. The writing is excellent with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing eventhough you know some of the characters are doomed from the start. The soundtrack continues where “Batman Begins” left off with additional themes for The Joker and Harvey Dent. I really liked the manic menace of The Jokers theme, “Why So Serious?”. It starts the entire movie off with a bang. Watch some footage and listen to a bit of the theme here:

I’m not just recommending this movie, I am demanding that you go and see it. Yes, it’s that good.

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