The Dark Knight review

It’s not very often that a film is able to live up to it’s hype. Countless people will tell you how disappointed they were with movies like Star Wars: The Phantom Menace or Spider-man 3. Both films saw a prolonged period of media hype, cast and crew interviews, and a seemingly endless barrage of trailers and posters. When the hype is that intense, it’s difficult for the final product to live up to it.
So the odds were stacked against The Dark Knight. Buzz surrounding he long-anticipated follow-up to 2005’s Batman Begins began to build steam from the final scene of the film. When Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) hands Batman (Christian Bale) a Joker card, the question of who would play The Joker began being asked, and being asked loudly. When it was eventually announced that Australian Heath Ledger, fresh off an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain, would play The Joker, buzz only increased. And it kept increasing, particularly with cast members commenting on the intensity that Ledger brought to the set. An internet viral campaign earned a fairly steady following, with The Dark Knight rarely out of sight and even more seldom, out of mind.
Then tragedy struck. In early 2008, Heath Ledger died of a drug overdose. Now anticipation of what Nolan and Bale were calling a show-stealing performance was coupled with the knowledge that it was his final completed performance. By the time the film was actually released, the hype was nearly unbearable. I certainly can’t remember a movie that was more intensely talked about, debated, and on the radar of both the general public and geek culture. Then came the advanced reviews.
Somehow, The Dark Knight was able to be every bit as good as the hype indicated. While it’s hyperbolic to suggest that it’s the best movie ever made (as the IMDB would have you believe), or even to call it on par with The Godfather: Part II, but it’s success is not limited to just being better than Batman Begins. It’s not even limited to being the best comic book adaptation to date. It’s one of the best crime films in recent years, plain and simple.
Christopher Nolan’s first triumph in The Dark Knight is the cast. The cast is nearly exclusively A-listers. Christian Bale’s performance is just as strong as it was in Batman Begins, with Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprising their roles as Butler Alfred Pennyworth and Wayne Enterprised CEO Lucius Fox in fine form. Similarly strong turns by Aaron Eckhart (Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes) are also of note. While the Rachel Dawes character still feels underdeveloped, Gyllenhaal’s more confident portrayal a strong step forward and a performance that can compete with the heavyweight male actors she shares the screen with.
How much of my impression of his performance was influenced by my subconsciously knowing he would never be seen onscreen again, I couldn’t say, but Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker was absolutely devastating in it’s power to command the screen. It’s not just the definitive portrayal of The Joker; it’s one of the most intense portrayals of a villain put on screen since Anthony Hopkins Oscar winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Ledger is impossible to ignore onscreen, and the level of tension in every scene he’s in is enormous. It’s just an incredible performance, and yes, I will join the ranks of those pushing for a posthumous Oscar for Ledger.
But the actors are only part of what makes The Dark Knight work as well as it does. The music by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard only assists the performances, and adds a layer of intensity. While the score isn’t as memorable as, say, a John Williams score, it adds a significant amount to the final product. Take it away or change it, and something’s lacking.
Ultimately, the bulk of the credit for The Dark Knight belongs to Christopher Nolan. The film is so well paced, so consistent, and so cohesive, that it transcends the Superhero genre. I do disagree with comparisons to The Godfather, but I would suggest that it shares a great deal with Michael Mann’s Heat, a similarly well-executed and intense crime drama. The Dark Knight runs two and a half hours, but it never drags or feels as long as it is. The pacing is tight, editing is seamless, and the visual effects are either in service of the story or completely incognito. It’s an improvement on Batman Begins in every way.
It’s also impressive in how well it tackles larger themes of justice, vengeance, guilt, responsibility, and hope without becoming a “meditation on madness” or a modern morality tale. All characters offer a different response to the chaos of the world. While it’s not a perfect film, it’s incredibly strong, and is worth multiple viewings. It’s strength, the intensity of the performances and depth of the story, are all proof that comics are more than just mainstream now. They’re setting the standards, and if the first week totals for The Dark Knight are any indication, breaking the records.

A-