July 2008
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The Dark Knight (12a)
Printed 23rd July 2008

No matter how much you’ve built this up in your head. No matter how good you hoped this would be. No matter how much hyperbole has been heaped upon Heath Ledger’s performance. Nothing can prepare you for what you will see. You have no idea what treats lie in store for you. Yes The Dark Knight really is THIS good, blowing sky high expectations into the stratosphere and beyond.

A direct continuance from the events in Begins, The Dark Knight picks up the story of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s (Christian Bale, back in black) crusade to save Gotham City roughly six months later. Now a fully-formed law-enforcer, Batman owns the night, forcing criminals into the light of day. Teamed-up with incorruptible cop Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman again) and new DA Harvey Dent (an all-American, chiselled-jawed Aaron Eckhart – Thank You For Smoking), this triumvirate of do-gooders have gone a long way towards putting an end to organised crime for good. But the emergence and prominence of a new breed of crime-fighter has given rise to a new level of criminal and soon the trio face a foe more deadly and unpredictable than they could have imagined in even their worst nightmares: the Joker (the late, great Heath Ledger).

By far the best comic book adaptation of all-time, The Dark Knight is less your standard superhero story, more a sprawling crime saga, the likes of which courts favourable comparisons to Michael Mann’s superlative Heat. Beyond epic, with so much action and life-altering events unfolding in its (all too brief) 150-minute runtime, it is amazing that Christopher Nolan has managed to present such a comprehensible film amidst all the chaos. Of course he’s got his equally ridiculously-talented brother to thank, big time, for co-writing one hell of a screenplay. Exciting, action-packed, melodramatic (in a good way), funny (there’s a rich vein of sarcastic humour running throughout), scary, political, poetic and most of all dark dark dark, there’s a level of writing here that you don’t normally find in summer tentpole releases. Scratch that, which you don’t normally find anywhere.

Additionally, astoundingly for a film this dense in plot and personage, not one character gets lost amongst the ensemble, each individual getting his or her moment to shine. The beefed-up Bale particularly impresses once more as both sides of the caped crusader (beyond a doubt the best on-screen Bats ever), a man struggling with his dual identity (the theme of the film overall), who is increasingly happiest when doling out punches and punishment to the criminal elite. Supporting him in his endeavour again is Michael Caine, relishing reprising his wisdom-espousing role as Bruce’s faithful butler, Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, who finds time for a few funny quips around acting as Bruce’s moral conscience and personal Q. Also returning to the Batverse, with a much welcome more prominent part to play in proceedings, Oldman instils Gordon with a quiet sense of authority and a palpable sense of pathos, the one man Batman trusts and will (to a point) acquiesce to.

Out of the newbies, Eckhart makes an impact, clearly enjoying the opportunity to render Dent’s (spoiler warning for those ignorant of Harvey’s two-faced tale!) descent from shining beacon to scarred psychotic. It is a story arc of Shakespearean scope, played out perfectly by an actor that’s never-been-better. In fact, the only disappointment in the whole movie lies, once more, in the character of Rachel Dawes. Perhaps this highlights the one fault in the Nolans’ writing, because Maggie Gyllenhaal struggles to make an impression in much the same way Katie Holmes did in Begins, despite being a far superior actress to the former (see Sherrybaby).

Of course, shining brighter than all the rest put together is Ledger’s definitive portrayal of the best villain in comics history and perhaps, arguably, now the best ever big-screen baddie (yes even better than the dark helmeted one himself). Scorching the screen whenever he’s...umm...on-screen, Ledger brings the Clown Prince of Crime to life as if he’s the sort of soulless child that enjoyed killing and dissecting helpless little animals for no reason, who has gotten older, but never grown-up or out of his habits. Very droog, Ledger’s Joker has no sense of right-and-wrong; just do what you want in order of chaos. Anarchic, psychotic and full of facial tics and nuanced gesticulation, he is one scary clown that will do nothing for the kiddie entertain industry but wonders for the acting community. It’s a fitting epitaph to a talent taken long before his time.

Of course The Dark Knight leaves things open for a part three (but not in a cheap, cash-in way, don’t worry). Unfortunately, not everyone can return. But should the majority of main players want to continue with the Batman story they set in motion (please Chris, please Jonathan, please Christian et al), then you can rest assured Gotham is in safe hands.

*****

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