Knight of Justice

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2012)

Batman to me wasn't just a superhero saga but as a whole it was a tragedy. What makes this film so special to me is that it's not just a great comic book movie adaption it transcends into being actually one of the greats films I've seen ever. Like most sequels this is one of the best and darkest since "The Empire Strikes Back" I found this sequel both exciting and also a little sad at the same time, but I'm glad none of this afraid to hurt the self esteem of the viewer bull crap this is a real movie.
Everything about this film is done right as usual the cinematography of the enviorment which consists of shades of black and grit, and bring out the neo noir quality. Even the action sequences were as usual exciting and great most notably a chase scene which is one of my favorite chase scenes ever because we see the Bat Pod for the first time, it's my favorite vehicle in the franchise I just love how fast it goes as well as it's offensive capabilities I wanted to drive it. But the chase resulted in both Batman and the Joker playing the most interesting game of Chicken I've ever seen (they went two round literally.). And the pacing was just right despite the film being long I was so engrossed in the film that when it ended I didn't even notice how much time passed.
However the real joy in this film is really in the drama and characterization.
Christian Bale as usual is great as Bruce Wayne/Batman we see in the film he's thinking of hanging up his cape due to the fact that he feels there's another symbol/hero that could bring Gotham more hope and protection then he could but also wants to move on and put closure to his unresolved feelings toward Rachel Dawes (thankfully recast and played well by Maggie Gyllenhaal). But he of course is learning that he may not be able to hand his cape up yet.
The other two new characters were great and I felt were real show steelers. Aaron Eckhart is great as Harvey Dent/Two Face. When we see him as Harvey I found him a character I actually like like I could be friends with. He has a great persona, idealistic, and really believes in the law and what he's doing to serve it, this makes us believe in this guy. But as we see his conversion from the good man he formerly was to the mensing super villain we know him to be is tragic and made me feel heavy pathos for him because we know something was robbed form him that he can't get back, his physical condition is a reflection of that but most of all on the psychological scars that won't heal.
And of course The Joker played brilliantly band flawlessly by the late great Heath Ledger, he has portrayed not just one of the greatest comic book villains perfectly but has made another one of the greatest movie villains ever in my book. I'll admit he's a really scary villain because as we see he's a psychopathic terrorist, from his dark taunts and mannerism which reminds me of the villain Alex D Large in "A Clockwork Orange", his face which reflects his damaged psyche two razor slits on his mouth which form a never ending smile (slightly inspired from a German expressionist horror classic "The Man Who Laughs"), we even get insight as to how he got them which contains truth if not the whole truth about how he got them but show that he's a damaged traumatized person that unfortunately unlike Batman went the path of darkness. I also like how his motives are a bit enigmatic he's a bit like John Rider from "The Hicher" were it seems like there might be a motive according to the comic series some say he's afflicting people with the same pain he feels just to prove in his sick way his philosophy that Justice doesn't exist if no one can stop what he's about to do or even him. He's doing this to challenge the caped crusader because he has nothing else to do. Or just simply wants to kill lots of people for fun and to get a good laugh. The schemes he cooks up the guy has the mind of a master chess player, he is about twenty moves ahead of the good guys and us which is scary because every time Batman and the rest come close to stopping him there is a card up his sleeve he's hiding. I really like the verbal back and forth both Batman and the Joker have, it was highly intense, you can tell Batman at times is having a hard time keeping his cool with him, I don't blame him I might snap as well if the Joker pressed a wrong button.
This film is all about the gray area in ethics and heroism, it's never a one way street and we get no answers. Tehre are limitations or at least should be to what people can or should do to exercise justice, but most of all how we all are capable of doing anything to break those limitations for what we deem as right or wrong. All of the good guys we see are getting pushed toward their ethical and emotional breaking pint. Batman having to utilize a technology that violates privacy laws just to track down the Joker. To Harvey Dent/Two Face in his tragic and painful downfall, he goes against his own ideals for revenge on his enemies that robbed him of something important in his life and made him the way he is.
The Dark Kinght has made the Batman mythology shades darker.
Rating: 4 stars