Christopher Nolan's Crowning Achievement: A Comic Book Triumph

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2014)

Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was an instant hit with critics and audiences alike when it came out. It presented us with a version of Batman that was deadlier, more intense, and all around cooler than any we'd seen in a long time. It was easily one of the best superhero movies made up to that point, and a very hard act to follow. And yet the Dark Knight finds room for improvement in every area. Batman Begins was excellent; The Dark Knight is a masterpiece.
The first hint that this isn't your average mindless action movie comes right at the beginning, with the clowns robbing the bank. Their timing, their knowledge of the building, it's way too good for a bunch of thugs in clown masks. And then there's the way that each member of the gang is gunned down as soon as he's no longer needed. Something is seriously wrong about this. And then the last clown standing peels off his mask to reveal one of cinema's all time great villains- Heath Ledger's Joker.
Caesar Romero, Jack Nicolson, and even Mark Hamil have made their mark playing the crazed clown, but Ledger blows them all away. Previous jokers loved pranks and mischief, like vandalizing the art museum or spraying people with laughing gas; this Joker prefers blowing up hospitals and carving into people's faces. Other Jokers used chaos and madness as a means to an end, for this guy, chaos and madness are an end to themselves. He doesn't care about money or power; he just wants to see the world burn.
Plus he's just scary too look at. The scars that give him a permanent grimace, the make-up that becomes more and more smeared and filthy as the movie goes on, his slow, smug way of talking, the way he darts his eyes back and forth, all combine to make him the creepiest man on earth. But to truly understand where Ledger is coming from, you have to realize that he isn't just playing the Joker. As a reviewer in World Magazine explained some time ago, he's playing the Devil. He delights in corrupting good men to evil acts; he licks his lips like a snake flicking his tongue. This is the Joker as Satan himself. It's one of the most frightening, grotesque, and profound portrayals of evil I've ever witnessed. It was the performance of a lifetime, and it likely was what cost the actor his life.
Heath Ledger's was clearly the most powerful performance in the film, but Aaron Eckhart comes in a fairly close second as Harvey Dent, aka Two-Face. Dent is earnest, committed, and free from any taint of corruption. He has the potential make an even greater positive influence on Gotham than Batman, even if he is stealing Batman's girl. But every man has his flaws. Dent's is that he is perhaps too zealous in his pursuit of justice, and too passionate in both love and hate. So when he loses what is most important to him, and is horribly disfigured, something snaps, and he is left venerable to the Joker's influence, leaving him as the vengeful psychotic Two-Face.
Christian Bale also shines as Batman. He's intense as always, and carries out the act of "bored playboy millionaire" quite well. As Bruce Wayne, he is an exceptional man who nonetheless finds himself in circumstances that may be too much even for him. Despite all his skills, and all his resources, he might not be able to defeat the Joker without breaking all his own rules. He must ask himself how far he'll go to win. Is protecting Gotham worth becoming as brutal as the Joker, or taking on Orwellian powers? And does he play Batman because the city needs him to, or because he needs to? In the hands of other directors, these questions would be clichéd, but Nolan works them masterfully to advance the plot and develop the main character.
Another thing that sets The Dark Knight apart from your average superhero movie is the complexity and unpredictability of its plot. This movie is filled with smart people. Gordon, Dent, and Batman know how set traps, and to always play two steps ahead. But the Joker is always three steps ahead. His plots are masterful webs of intrigue where nothing is what it seems, and your logical reaction will probably play right into his hands. The twists and reversals come fast and hard, especially in the second half, and just when you think you've figured it all out, the movie jerks you around- in the best way possible of course.
Plus, the action scenes are simply awesome. My favorite is when Batman kidnaps the Hong Kong tycoon from his own high rise. He bursts in and takes down the security guards like a one man SWAT team, then boards the getaway plane- without it landing. Other highlights include the drug bust, in which Batman jumps three stories onto a moving van, and the extended chase sequence towards the middle, featuring crashes and explosions aplenty, along with one hell of a motorcycle and a completely unexpected climax.
Honestly, this is the kind of movie where everything just works. The screenplay, direction, acting, cinematography, special effects, and everything else are perfectly executed. If there is any flaw with this movie, I can't find it. It should have at least been nominated for best picture at the Oscars. That it didn't is probably the number one reason they doubled the number of nominees starting the next year. I will admit that this movie isn't for small children or the faint of heart. Between Two-Face's grisly visage and some of the Joker's killings, I have no idea how The Dark Knight ducked an R rating. But if you can handle this type of material, I have no trouble recommending The Dark Knight. See it twice, at least.