It begins

Rating: 8/10 (31 August 2010)

After two attempts by Tim Burton who dabbled in a German expressionistic Gotham and a Batman, "with his arm-chair "split right down the middle" psychology. And two other attempts by Joel Shumacher to add a teenage sidekick, nipples on latex and a Visa card with an expiry date that only Paris Hilton could love, we get Christopher Nolans interpretation.
I say interpretation, and I use that loosely in this case. But I will get back to that. Recalling how, in 1986, Frank Miller borough Bob Kane's Caped Crusader into contemporary America, the film centeres around that myth surrounding the character. Nolan and David S Goyer understand that Batman is probably the most complex, intriguing and darkest character of the DC universe, that in order to understand Batman, we must understand the man that has been consumed by him.
This is a film with very little "gloss", unlike the previous vrsions. It's gritty, in your face, creepy and real. The costumes, gadgets and vehicles come to surface honestly. Think of this as a slasher film for thugs. We watch several creep around in the alley ways, hearing anomalous sounds, only to see them suddenly disappear without a trace, and wonder if they were there in the first place.
To me, the real turn around is the relationships that we weren't privy to before. Nolan finally understands that there is a complex alliance in his butler Alfred. I mean, here's a guy who is employed by the Waynes, but has a paternal nurturing aspect to him. Can they both co exist? Should they?
We meet Jim Gordon, the one true clean cop in this crooked city, and Lucius Fox an agreeable Morgan Freeman who deserving of more screen time, plays the role with a glimmer of fun in his eye.
What works? The in-depth analysis of Bruce Wayne, it's over an hour before Batman even materializes. He's not just a guy in a latex mask, he's an arrogant,smug, self absorbed playboy billionaire who's been dead since they day his parents died. The Batman is not just Batman, it's the Dark Knight. He's cunning, unrelentless and unsure of himself.
The villains. These men actually are independent from one another. It used to be that Riddler simply was the Joker, the Joker was simply the Riddler,it was just the costumes helped us differentiate between them. All the villains were as manic and wild as the next one. Hot off the assembly line, they all engaged in the same practise. Spouting the same drivel and looney mannerisms. Here, there are no costumes, everyone has a separate agenda and a way to implement it.
What doesn't work? This is where the review gets more difficult. The biggest problem in the film is that there is no real problems in the film. Like it or lump it, Burton had a vision. I lumped it. This wasn't MY Gotham, but surely we all understand that a creator shouldn't sit on the laps of the fans, spouting what it is they exactly want to hear. There has to be room for play. After all, what good is a film that is literally ripped right from Millers Year One? Nolan is the most faithful to the Dark Knight, but he also didn't extend that idea neither.
Wally Pfister, the cinematographer. The fight scenes are a mess, too close for our own good and unable to see perhaps what kind of martial arts that Batman has acquired. One has argued that that level of closeness works on the POV of the villains he's beating. Keep the viewer as disoriented as they are. I don't bite.
The mob take down. I think this was where the story lied. It played nicely on the Phoenix theme, but Falcone, the underworld mob boss who controls most, if not all of Gotham, doesn't last a minute when Batman enters. These are all small elements as to what has gone wrong in most comic book films. I accept the fact that my vision of The Dark Knight will most likely never be achieved, so I can only focus on what has.
This film is faithful, careful and powerful. It's fun. Everyone played it like they should, grounded in reality. Everyone was believable, and if this is the stepping stone to perhaps a darker Batman, I think this wil be the one film that people remember in 20 years as the film that reintroduced Batman to contemporary America, like Miller did in 86.
BTW, we get to see Batman on the rooftop with Jim Gordon, actually talking and laying roots to a strong alliance. Something Burton never got.