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Movie Review - The Dark Knight (2008)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Christopher Nolan |
| Starring: |
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and some menace) |
| Length: |
152 minutes |
| Genre: |
Action/Crime/Comic |
| Tagline: |
Why So Serious? |
| Studio: |
Warner Brothers |
| Website: |
The Dark Knight |
| Release: |
July 18, 2008 |
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PLOT
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With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves
to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight
ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. A must-see piece of filmmaking ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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"At the end of Batman Begins," says director Christopher Nolan, "we hinted at the threat of escalation - that in going after the
city's crime cartels and attacking their interests, Batman could provoke an even greater response from the criminal community and now that has come to pass. There are
some very negative consequences of his crusade brewing in Gotham City."
"Escalation" is too tame a word to describe what has transpired in Gotham since the events in Batman Begins. Batman has done
his best to eliminate crime, and while some consider him a hero, others believe he is doing more harm than good. The mob is unwilling to surrender, and as a last resort
they turn to a man they don't fully understand - The Joker. The stakes have been raised, the atmosphere darkened, and the movie experience deepened.
Masterfully blending action, great performances, and a gripping story, Nolan has created a dark world and slowly exposed its warts. It's bleak. It's sadistic. Joy
does not abound. But what do you expect when a self-described "agent of chaos" wants to desperately prove that deep down, everybody is just as sick as he?
The Dark Knight is not just a movie you watch; it's a film you absorb. Every scene has a reason, every character a purpose, and everybody involved had a
passion. It's a story that slowly simmers through its story and character development, and bubbles to a boil via the Joker's psychotic desperation until it eventually
explodes into a fire of chaos.
Typically when I check my watch during a movie it's because I'm wondering how much longer until it's over. During The Dark Knight I checked it out of fear that
time was running out. Two hours in, I dreaded the end of this tunnel. I knew there was only 20-30 minutes left, but I wanted more. I don't mean to be overdramatic,
but I wasn't ready for this world to end. I wanted to know what The Joker would say next, what Batman would do in response, and what the consequences would be.
"Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
One of the reasons The Dark Knight is even better than its predecessor is Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. You relish every minute he's on-screen, and
you long for his return while he's absent. It's hard to verbally describe how powerful the character is, so I'll just be blunt about it - he's easily the best superhero
villain I've ever seen portrayed on screen.
Steph was unable to attend the screening, so amidst my fanboy explanation of what I had just witnessed, she asked if it was weird watching Heath Ledger. The beauty of
his performance is that he so completely disappears into the character that I didn't have time to think about the fact that I was watching Ledger's final full performance.
He's unrecognizable. If I had just crawled out from under a rock and walked into the screening I wouldn't have realized who it was. Ledger is The Joker.
He's a ticking time bomb who has no qualms in making a point no matter the method. Every time he's on screen we expect anything can happen. Whether it actually happens
or not isn't the point. The film manages to create terror without being overly explicit in its visual revelation of it. The scariest thing about The Joker isn't always
in what he does but in what we fear he might do.
"You either die a hero ... or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
Another reason The Dark Knight surpasses Batman Begins is the excellent performance of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey
Dent/Two-Face. Dent is a very compelling character in contrast to The Joker. While The Joker is simply set on destruction, Dent has a complete story arc. Viewed
as "the White Knight" by the citizens of Gotham, Dent is the noble District Attorney who wants to bring down organized crime. He's bold and fearless, filled with hope
and optimism. You can't help but admire the guy and then feel for him as you watch the path down which he heads.
After the screening, I engaged in a little group discussion and rambled on about everything I loved. My cousin asked, "Was there anything you didn't like about it?"
Pausing, I thought about it for a few seconds and responded, "I really can't think of anything."
Upon further reflection, I'd have to say that my main "issue" with the film is whether or not Christopher Nolan has outdone himself. Everything comes together so well that I
fear he might not be able to create a follow-up that will match what he's delivered here. But if there's anything I've learned about the guy it's not to doubt him. He has a
handle on the franchise, and he knows exactly what he's doing. I don't know if he'll be able to "top" The Dark Knight, but I do know that I can't wait to see what's
next.
Nolan concludes, "For me, Batman has an enduring appeal and endless fascination because he is a relatable character. He is referred to as a superhero, but actually he is
a self-invented superhero. And I think the fantasy of a man who, through sheer will and self-discipline, has turned himself into more than just a man, into a heroic
figure ... that's just a very compelling myth."
A very compelling myth whose essence Nolan has perfectly captured and turned into a very compelling movie franchise.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Keep an eye out for Cillian Murphy's brief return as the Scarecrow.
- Keep another eye out for a brief scene where the Joker appears without makeup.
- "The Joker is the ultimate screen arch-villain," Nolan attests. "In his own way, The Joker is as much an icon as The Dark Knight is, and that presented us with both an
opportunity and a challenge in terms of exploring the character's distorted point of view. But we also wanted to create a villain who, as colorful and outrageous as he is,
is still coming from a place of reality. In keeping with the tone we established in Batman Begins, we determined he is a pretty serious
guy, despite being called The Joker. So we began with the notion of The Joker as the most extreme form of anarchist - a force of chaos, a purposeless criminal who is not
out for anything and, so, can't be understood. He is not only a massively destructive force, but he also takes great delight in his murderous nature, which is a pretty
terrifying spectacle.
- The role of Batman has an inherent physicality, so Bale immersed himself in a refresher course on the Keysi Fighting Method (KFM) that Batman employs against his enemies.
A relatively young martial arts discipline, KFM is an intuitive fighting method with a strong emphasis on mental focus, but Bale also had to be in peak physical condition.
He trained with Keysi fight coordinators Andy Norman and Justo Dieguez for two to three hours every day. "In KFM, you learn to develop every part of your body as a weapon,
and it's not easy," Norman relates. "We worked Christian extremely hard, and it was fantastic how quickly he absorbed everything. There was a definite progression in his
training since the first film. He understands KFM a lot better, so he was more powerful and his movement was incredible."
"It's a fascinating fighting method," says Bale, "because it uses the adrenaline that everyone feels entering into a threatening or violent situation. It really comes from
the gut. Rather than the kind of Zen calm that some martial arts call on, KFM is based on animal instinct and honing those instincts to be lethal, so it's perfect for
Batman."
- Nolan shot six major action sequences with IMAX cameras, becoming the first director to use the large-format cameras to film even a portion of a traditional feature
film.
- In casting the part of The Joker, Nolan says that the defining quality he was looking for "was fearlessness. I needed a phenomenal actor, but he also had to be someone
unafraid of taking on such an iconic role. Heath created something entirely original. It's stunning, it's captivating ... it's going to blow people away."
The director recalls that he first met with Ledger about the role even before there was a script. "We talked about how we saw this character and we both had exactly the
same concept - that The Joker was about the threat of anarchy and revels in creating chaos and fear on a grand scale. Heath seemed to instinctively understand how to make
this character different from anything that had ever been done before."
- Rising out of the Chicago skyline, the Sears Tower was the site of a soaring exterior shot, and Christian Bale was not going to be denied an opportunity to stand
atop the tallest building in the United States. The actor recounts, "I overheard my stunt double, Buster Reeves, saying he was heading up to the Sears Tower to do that,
and I said, 'Sorry buddy, no way. I just have to do this one myself.' I mean, how often do you get to be 110 stories up, looking out over all of Chicago? But it's a funny
and probably quite dangerous thing," he laughs, "how quickly I felt very at home out there and how soon I was able move around right on the edge, looking straight
down."
- Christian bale was in 3:10 to Yuma with Russell Crowe who was in American Gangster with
Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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There isn't much profanity (one or two instances each of a**, d**n, h*ll). The atmosphere is dark and bleak, and often violent, but it's not very bloody and much of
the violence is off-screen. It may be a little too dark and not "fun enough" for those under the age of eight.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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Every single trailer I saw for this film was awesome, and the movie fulfills the promises they gave.
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THE GIST
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Go see The Dark Knight on the biggest, baddest, loudest screen that you can. I'll see it multiple times at the theater and will definitely add it to my DVD
collection. I honestly can't see any movie beating it out for best of the year.
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