It's going to be a long dark night

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2008)

The Dark Knight (2008) ****
Why so serious, Batman? Well, because it's the way you were meant to be. The Dark Knight is just as its title would suggest - this is a dark, brooding, and maddening film. Lead by an array of characters, Christopher Nolan's new installment weaves, dances, and smashes its way through its story.
This time out, Batman of course does battle with the Joker. This is not your Jack Nicholson Joker, nor your campy 60s Joker. Heath Ledger takes the legendary character and turns him into what he was meant to be - a maniacal, socio-psychopathic agent of chaos. He adds moments of humor, indeed, but in the darkest and often most disturbing of manners. Given how many people want to see this, I will waste little time in divulging plot details. Suffice to say that the story by the Nolan brothers and Goyer twists and turns its way through a continuous maze of carnage and chaos, full of surprises and intelligence.
This is a long one, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours, but it moves with break neck pace while maintaining nail biting patience. Nolan makes use of tense build-ups, and some chillingly effective moments in the score. The camera work is fantastic, with the camera often weaving and spinning its way through scenes, creating an almost unconscious sense of bewilderment and dizziness.
To call The Dark Knight a comic book film is entirely inaccurate. It has more to do with a standard crime thriller (or even a horror film) than standard comic book fare. Which is in no way meant as an insult to comic book films (or comic books). This is simply an observation. Nolan has taken Batman and made him real.
Chicago is again used as Gotham, and this time gets even more into the city streets. Action is flanked by towering buildings along narrow city streets, creating a sense of the real down and dirty violence that simply is not afforded by other CGI fantasy cities. Even Batman Begins is nowhere near the level of realism presented by Gotham here. The entire film is shot with the hand and eye not just of a true filmmaker, but a great one. Christopher Nolan has breathed entirely new life into the Batman legacy, which was once almost doomed to camp and cornball antics in the 90s. This is such a dark, gritty, and mesmerizing experience, one that transcends the boundaries of standard filmgoing experiences, and literally makes you feel like you are there. Nolan deserves all the praise in the world for taking on a pop culture project and turning it into an intelligent, thoughtful, and darkly artistic portrait of madness.
Much praise must also go to the actors. To begin, Heather Ledger, who steals every scene he is in. His performance is a work of mad genius, that likely will garner him at least an Oscar nod. Of course Christian Bale also continues to show why he is the best Batman ever. Aaron Eckhart also gives a very strong performance as Harvey Dent. They all play second fiddle to Ledger though, and all seem very happy to have done so.
Now like any self respecting cinephile, it's often difficult to praise the genius of a film the likes of Batman. It's pop culture mainstream fair. You can see that in the reviews of lots of critics. But it simply would be unfair to deny the greatness of The Dark Knight. There are only a few minor problems with the picture, none significant. Its everything it needed to be. And while I may not be able to say if this is the best fest film I've seen this year, it's certainly the one I can't wait to see again most.