REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)

If you haven't seen "The Dark Knight" yet, you should. Even if you are too cool for comic-books and superhero movies, at this point it is more of a cultural phenomenon. Breaking almost every box office record in history (biggest midnight premiere, highest grossing weekend, etc.), "The Dark Knight" is perhaps the most hyped up movie ever. It seems as though, after five previous Batman screen incarnations, the character is still considered the greatest superhero of them all. Either that, or hype for a movie exceeds subject matter. If you are a fan of Batman, this movie is the most current, relevant, and perhaps realistic incarnation of the "caped Crusader". In terms of a summer movie, it shows that darkness, maturity, and a message increase the marketability of a movie. It is the smartest summer action movie in a long while.

The film is actually closely based on a plot from the Batman comic book series called "The Long Halloween", which deals with the relationship between the three most zealous crime-fighters in Gotham City; Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and District Attorney Harvey Dent. "The Dark Knight" film takes these three characters and creates a Scorsese-like crime drama where the importance and influence of each is considered from a real-world perspective; Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is known as the "White Knight" of Gotham, and is a regular man pursuing justice within the legal boundaries of a courtroom. Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) is more willing to bend the rules, and assists the vigilante Batman (Christian Bale) in finding and ending criminals. Batman respects Harvey Dent's genuine devotion to justice and believes him to be the savior of Gotham that Batman could never be, perhaps because people are less willing to trust and believe a man wearing a high-tech suit.

Honestly, it seems redundant to even mention who comes on to the scene of Gotham's crime world in response to Batman...but, I will repeat it: the Joker (Heath Ledger). He is a fucking psycho that wears make-up and dresses in a purple suit, and basically toys with people and sets up elaborate terrorist threats and media spectacles. I am so glad that everyone involved with the film decided to allow the Joker free will in this movie: it feels like a horror movie in the sense that you don't know how far he will go, but the fact that he is as genuinely violent and destructive (and successful at both these things) is perhaps the biggest payoff for this movie. Shit is real in "The Dark Knight". The Joker kills many people. He puts Batman's weaknesses on full display: Batman is seen as a psychopath by Gotham's citizens, he is rejected by his love interest Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhall), and he fails to save lives. Life sucks for both Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight. The plot centers around the Joker's terrorism, and features brilliant scenes that illustrate the Joker's distinct mental disorders and split personalities; he is a liar, a killer, a child and a man, and a gangster. People have described how they love it whenever the Joker's on-screen. My guess, whether you want to admit it or not, is not just because you are looking at a ghost... it is because he serves us such delicious portions of violence and destruction.

"The Dark Knight" is easily the best comic book movie ever, because of its perfect hybrid of both film and comic book action, generating popcorn cinema that works well for fans of any form of media, and viewers of any age bracket and level of interest. It relies on simple character archetypes who turn in excellent performances. The film is just so unique, and that is a MAJOR accomplishment unto itself. I mean, when you compare "The Dark Knight" to "Spiderman 3" or "Pirates of the Carribbean...3", it makes those movies look immature. In an interview with Christian Bale, he describes how there are no"winks at the camera". That perfectly describes the difference between "The Dark Knight" and "Pirates of the Carribbean", which features so many bad jokes and Johnny Depp one-liners it barely even qualifies as a movie. Thankfully, "The Dark Knight" seems to indicate that people want more from Hollywood movies, and constantly hearing about the hundreds of millions of dollars that movies deal in suggests that there is no excuse for films to deliver anything less than what "The Dark Knight" provides: a good, serious, memorable movie.