The Dark Knight (Further Thoughts)

I saw The Dark Knight for a third time Sunday afternoon. And man.... it gets better every time. Look, I love Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Godfather, but I'm going to go ahead and say it: this is the best film I've ever seen. Yes, probably all of those films (and many others) will always have a bigger impact on the history and future of filmmaking, but the quality of this film (groundbreaking for the genre) combined with my love of the Batman character and his world leave me completely unable to say otherwise. The Dark Knight also, of course, dethrones the great Batman Begins as my favorite film of all-time. It sure is good to be a Batman fan right now...

The Dark Knight (My Review)

They've nailed it. They've absolutely nailed it. My long-going, seemingly insurmountable level of anticipation (three years worth) has been shattered. I am just blown away by the brilliance of Christopher Nolan's masterpiece. Yes, masterpiece.

The Nolan brothers and David Goyer created a story that is wonderfully complex and truly gripping. They drew pieces from some of the best parts of Batman classics like The Long Halloween, The Man Who Laughs, The Killing Joke, and surely many others (those are just what came to mind as I watched) and made something possibly even better. This isn't your usual throwaway piece of pop culture entertainment. It's much closer to art. The screenplay says so many intriguing things about humanity. Where is the proverbial line? How far can it be pushed to achieve what is ultimately a good and honorable goal? What is true heroism? When the chips are down, how will people react? These are the questions we're faced with. The Dark Knight doesn't presume to answer them for us, but it challenges us to discover the answers for ourselves. I've read several articles that go so far as to say that they think the film is being political, but I argue otherwise. I can't speak for the filmmakers, so maybe I'm wrong. However, the challenging topics of this film have been explored in countless Batman stories over a span of 70 years. These aren't new ideas to the Batman mythos. If anything, this just proves how relevant Batman continues to be, generation after generation.

As for the film's technical aspects, let's talk about the guy most responsible for this film: Christopher Nolan. Can this guy make a bad film? Film by film, Nolan's been cementing himself as one of the great directors of our time. Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige.... these are all amazing, top-tier films. And now, with The Dark Knight, I think everyone is going to finally realize just how good this guy is. And how about Wally Pfister's cinematography? Just gorgeous, gorgeous stuff. The score is very well done, too. It feels like a natural progression of the themes presented in Batman Begins. The new, much talked about one-note-based theme for The Joker works exceptionally well. And, of course, this wouldn't be a Batman film without some great action. Aerial stunts, car chases, explosions, and plenty of fight sequences.... The Dark Knight is a jolt of caffeine that keeps your heart racing from start to finish.

While the action sequences and stunts are amazing, the more intimate scenes are the heart of the film. As a prime example, an interrogation scene between The Batman and The Joker honestly just shocked me. I figured their interaction would be good.... but it's much, much better than that. It's amazing to see such great character work in a blockbuster. And not only is it great character work, but the fabled complex relationship between Batman and The Joker is portrayed perfectly. At one point in the film, The Joker says this to Batman: "You won't kill me, out of some misguided morality, and I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think we're destined to do this forever." Just perfect. Talk about a Batman fan's dream come true....

One thing I don't think I can say enough about (and can't really do justice for anyway) is this interpretation of The Joker. After this performance, The Joker is definitely Ledger's. I can't imagine his take ever being topped. The Joker has always been one of the classic literary villains just aching for an accurate big-screen portrayal and man, Heath did it better than I could've ever hoped. He's somehow managed to pull off being funny, sadistic, charismatic, and downright frightening all at once. You can't take your eyes off the guy. And you can't decide whether you want to laugh or throw up when you hear his jokes. And often when he does make you laugh, you feel bad for doing so. That, my friends, is The Joker. And most importantly, this Joker is the perfect opposition for The Batman.... a true and constant threat that challenges him in nearly every way imaginable. Everyone's talking posthumous Oscar for Heath and I sure hope he not only gets nominated, but that he wins. This performance is just that good.

I also really, really appreciate the other new central character: Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent and Two-Face. Eckhart's Harvey is noble, yet cocky and angry enough before the accident to really sell it when Harvey is horribly injured and unleashes his darker side. I have to give some serious credit to the writers here, as well, for adapting the character so well. The tragic side of the character comes across perfectly. The rest of the performances are solid, too. I love the way Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman have elevated these films. These guys are some of the best we have and never seem to disappoint. Also, Maggie Gyllenhaal is a welcome addition to the cast replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Going in, I think I would've preferred Katie Holmes to stick around just for continuity sake, but Gyllenhaal does such a fine job that it's really not an issue.

But who is this picture about? The Batman, of course, and they're continuing to get him absolutely right. Christian Bale is just an excellent Bruce Wayne. He's perfected the "fake Bruce Wayne" by acting like a silly rich drunkard, womanizer, and egomaniac. He's hilarious a lot of the time, but we never forget just how selfless of an act it really is. He also embodies the real Bruce Wayne which only Alfred and Rachel (and Fox to some degree) truly know. And last, but definitely not least, he's a heck of a Batman. In The Dark Knight, you can tell Batman is maturing. He's becoming the signature Batman who pushes the line of what's decent and acceptable. He walks the razor's edge every night. He's also becoming more self-sufficient. We see him doing more detective work. We see him making technological advances with little or no help from Lucius Fox. As for the title of the film: Batman truly becomes The Dark Knight in this story. The decisions he makes throughout the film show us this progression. And the decision he makes at the end of the film is one of the most refreshing takes on heroism and selflessness that I've ever seen put on film.

I think it's safe to say that after this no one will ever look at the "comic book genre" the same again (if it's even fair to label this artistic vision as such). This is the father -- or The Godfather, as many critics have said -- of the genre. Look, I love Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Godfather. Those are fantastic films that I could watch over and over again. But I'm going to go ahead and say it: this is the best film I've ever seen. Yes, probably all of those films (and many others) will always have a bigger impact on the history and future of filmmaking, but the quality of this film -- groundbreaking for the genre -- combined with my love of the Batman character and his world leave me completely unable to say otherwise. The film also, of course, dethrones the great Batman Begins as my favorite film of all-time. Begins did a magnificent job exploring the origins of the character, but along with its main theme, "escalation," The Dark Knight just takes things to a whole new level. Finally, we've gotten the film that will almost certainly be met with unanimous agreement as the definitive take on the character. This is The Batman.... this is The Dark Knight.