THE DARK KNIGHT
Exciting New Chapter in the Re-Vamped, Christopher Nolan Directed Batman Series is Bold, Thrilling and Well Made (and NOT just because of Heath Ledger's Joker!)
THE DARK KNIGHT-PG-13-2008-156mins. Stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal Directed by Christopher Nolan
Rating-***1/2 Rarely is the sequel better than the original but in this case it is. What a show! I am not a big fan of superhero movies but when a series of films comes along that are so solidly well made and well acted and just happen to feature a comic book hero- how can I not give it the props that it deserves? Batman Begins was an entire re-tooling of the legend of the caped crusader that made me forget that Tim Burton ever even made a certain movie called 'Batman' in 1989 with Michael Keaton in the title role and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. At the time, it was cutting edge. But watching it now- it looks silly and trite in comparison to Christopher Nolan's version. And Jack Nicholson looks like a clownish fool in comparison to the evil sociopath so brilliantly portrayed by Heath Ledger. The late actor is of course, the main attraction here but the rest of the actors do great work as well and the film itself stands on its own as a great piece of work. The acclaimed director of MEMENTO has brought some long needed grit and darkness to the Batman franchise, making a very adult film with plenty of violence and terror and even gore, that I'm surprised that it was given a PG-13 rating! Fifteen or even ten years ago it would've certainly been R rated but times have changed; however the fact remains that this is not a movie for children.The filmstarts out with a bold, brutal bank robbery with the robbers donning clown masks and automatic weapons. Soon we meet the Joker for the first time and his first impression is an unforgettable one. "What doesn't kill you - makes you stranger", He utters. The cops of Gotham City start to take notice and the relatively peaceful atmosphere that Batman has brought to the city is soon shattered as the Joker begins hid reign of terror both over the citizens of Gotham and the city's organized crime figures. New District attorney Harvey Dent ( a completely sincere Aaron Eckhart) vows to clean up the streets but has no idea how far the Joker will go to create chaos and tests the limits of both Batman (a typically stoic Christian Bale) and the police force, as well as Dent himself. The Joker is unbelievably cruel, psychotic and disgusting (Ledger is utterly unrecognizable, both his face and his speech- he has a raspy, nasally voice that is eerie and his mouth movements are creepy and vile). His motives have nothing to do with money or power or anything else that your usual villain would be after- in his own words he is an agent of chaos. His back story is never clear and he gives a few different versions of how he got the scars on his cheeks; this differs from the story of Nicholson's criminal Joker completely. Ledger's performance is the centerpiece of the film only equaled by that of Eckhart, who eventually becomes Two-Face (the cartoonish fool once embodied by Tommy Lee Jones in the later Batman flicks which were, in a word, awful). Bale is the best man suited to play Bruce Wayne and to wear the costume, he plays both roles completely separate. Maggie Gyllenhall takes over the role Katie Holmes played in Batman Begins as the righteous Rachel Dawes, one time flame of Wayne, now girlfriend to Harvey Dent; she does a much better job than Holmes, adding more charisma besides just a beautiful face. The script written by Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan is intelligent and incredibly complex but it all makes perfect sense and is full of surprises and astounding developments. This is a non-stop ride that will not disappoint and besides being a great 'superhero, comic-book movie' this is also one of the best films I've seen so far this year. Worthy of four stars and it lives up to the all of the hype and then some…incredible! Take note Chicagoans- does Gotham City look familiar? That's right- it was filmed mostly in the Windy City!
