A soaring success

Rating: Null/10 (1 August 2008)

I'm a sucker for superhero films and a summer without one is like a summer without sunshine, so I happily saw the two Tim Burton offerings ("Batman" & "Batman Returns") and even the pair of inferior Joel Schumacher works ("Batman Forever" & "Batman & Robin") before thoroughly enjoying Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" (2005). Three years later, the British director - who also co-wrote and co-produced - is back with an even darker and even more impressive outing for Bob Kane's caped crusader, the first not to include 'Batman' in the title.
Like any top-notch action movie should, it opens immediately with a fast-paced and violent sequence that is well-shot and well-executed and the excitement and exhilaration never let up for a lengthy 152 minutes. It's not always clear what is been said and the plotting is sometimes confusing too, but the sheer fury and verve of the thing carries you through and gives you a real adrenaline rush.
All the usual Batman elements are there: the man himself, played again with cool skill by Christian Bale; his English butler (Michael Caine) and Q-like support (Morgan Freeman); the soon to be Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman); the love interest Rachel Dawes (with Katie Holmes out of the picture, portrayed this time by Maggie Gyllenhaal); an array of ugly bad guys and one who starts off as both good-looking and ultra-good (Aaron Eckhart as Harvey 'Two Face' Dent); the soaring and brooding city of Gotham (actually Chicago); of course, the technology, including a new sleek Batmobile and an amazing bike-like Batpod; plus the insistent soundtrack of Hans Zimmer.
What's different is the performance of the character intending to be Batman's nemesis and the political message permeating this post 9/11 thriller.
The late Heath Ledger gives a chillingly brilliant portrayal of The Joker that is miles apart from the earlier outing by Jack Nicholson. This is a villain who cannot be bought and with whom one cannot negotiate because he is not in the game for any material or political objective but simply to cause utter mayhem. A kind of Osama bin Laden character then, except The Joker is even crazier in setting up life and death choices for people that have no purpose but cruelty and chaos.
Time and time again, men in the movie are faced with the dilemmas facing democracies today: should personal liberties be sacrificed to make it more likely that one will prevent an attack on one of our cities with an inevitable loss of innocent lives? should we torture someone evil if we believe that the resulting information will save lives of the good? At times, even Batman behaves like Bush or Bauer in a morally ambiguous representation of power.