The Dark Knight

So... I logged in for 30 seconds then the world server crashed. Back again to write up my review of The Dark Knight. Be warned there's a few spoilers and I welcome your input and conflicting views! Someone please tell me I read to much into this movie...

First, let me say that I LOVED Batman Begins. I loved the origin tale which no Batman movie before has done, I loved the simplicity of the sets. Yes, I admired Tim Burton for his bringing the comic book to the screen to perfection but after a while the eye does get tired. To me it was like watching a Jim Carrey movie. You live for the moments when his rubber face is still for more than a moment.

SPOILER IN TEN SPACES. AVOID OR READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!










It is a shame that Heath Ledger died after making this film. As a true affictionado of The Batman and all around Batman dork he made the true nature and personality of the Joker actually live. Yes, Jack Nicholson did a good job for his time in the early '90s but Ledger not only nailed the part but to me, gave the Joker and his blissful, murderous nature three dimensions. His opening line "No, I'm supposed to shoot the bus driver." is simply delivered but has such impact... then his 'trick' of hiding the pencil. You realize quite quickly you're watching a master at the height of their craft. How else could one deliver such depth to a character often viewed as a one dimensional murderer with a quirk for sick jokes? The Joker and the Batman (in the comics) are the eternal struggle of chaos vs. order... etc. You get the picture.

Then we meet Harvey Dent. Those of you in the know realize who and what he'll be in the future. The actor (who I can't remember but damn, couldn't they have given him a better dye job?) did a fair job of portraying the dedication Harvey once had to law and order. The fact that he was not only a Knight in search of the Grail (end to crime in Gotham) but facing a past and distrust. He may be the White Hope of Gotham but he has to fly alone as No One, not Batman, not Gordon, not even the gullible public of Gotham trust him. It seems that no matter what Harvey has done, who he has put away and who ever he has exposed No ONE trust him. He is Don Quioxte tilting at eternal windmills and though he finds a kindred soul in the Batman, he can't give over to trust either.

But then when he turns... when his world ends the VERY FIRST person he belives and trust is Joker. Raise the Bullshit flag? Maybe... it just dpends on how much you belive in the Joke throughout the movie. From an overview, Dent's turn to Two-Face is ... just a means to advance the movie but if you believe the battle between Joker and Batman, read a bit into the underlying story about saving souls... espcially the soul of Gotham... it works.

Rachel... now replaced by Maggie Gylenhall (sp) Personally, she just didn't work for me. She didn't have the easy grace, passion or decisivness needed for a woman torn between the dark and light souls of Gotham city. Whenever she was on the screen with Bruce I just didn't see the chemistry. All I saw was two people that DID NOT fit together trying to pull off a love story. To me she didn't even fit with Dent that well. I did love her in The Secretary but IMPHO (in my personal humble opinion) Maggie should avoid love interest stories.

Bruce/Batman.. Christain Bale. I know Bale's work from his start. I kinda liked American Psycho but then I expected more from the book. The Batman Begins showed me a depth to his abilities only hinted at in 110 to Yuma and so on. He did Bruce Wayne very well, the flipancy and rich boy attitude combined with an undertone of regret. Michael Keaton did a good job but I've always felt he was only the catalist to Michelle Phiffer and Jack Nicholson. That Batman was only a introduction to Joker and Catwoman.

But in this... to me he was just a costume or suit that ran around being sullen in the wake of the Joker. We did get some great interaction between he and Michael Caine but ... to me it just seemed he was thrown in to create a bridge between the story lines of Joker and Dent-Twoface.

Now... if you are into between the lines ... there's this whole terrosim/war thing going but I won't go into that unless asked. I have a background in that and saw it immediately but I doubt most people in the UK bothered to give it notice and let it ruin the movie like it did for me.

Oh.. one last thing. I LOVELOVELOVE how you never get the story of Joker. How he got his scars? His clothes? You get nothing in the end.

All in all, I'd recomend it for a fun day out but don't expect it to move your world. Just go have fun but bring your own snacks if you go to Cine-World. They suck for popcorn, nachos and such.