the perfect Batman story

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2008)

With this movie, Nolan has simply maximized the potential of the Batman character. This will be the definitive Batman story, and Ledger's schizophrenic acting will be the definitive incarnation of the Joker, a villain who originated in the 1940s but has never before been captured so perfectly.
Nolan transcends the boundaries of a comic book movie to make a complex crime saga that ranks with The Godfather and Heat. Sure, Batman scored a round one victory against the mob and corruption in Batman Begins. This movie is about the counterpunch: sensing defeat, the mob turn to and empower a man they do not fully understand, a demonish villain the Joker. At one point in the movie Maroni, a mob boss, summarizes the difference between the Batman and Joker: "You have rules. He doesn't." The Joker has gone through many transformations in his history, from being a mere prankster in the campy 60s TV show to the clownish, over-the-top killer done by Nicholson. But Ledger's Joker is on a whole new level: this villain doesn't want money, or power, or even to kill Batman. He simply wants to prove that the whole world is mad like him, that when the chips are down, "these civilized people... will eat each other." Fans of the comic book will recognize this theme from The Killing Joke.
Ledger's performance ranks with the best of Brando or Nicholson. Everything about his character, every small mannerism and detail, reinforces his schizophrenic psychopath nature. While watching the movie, notice how the Joker licks his lips, or bends his head while walking, or constantly moves his eyes even if he's talking to only one person, or even how he claps. They all suggest that we're not dealing with a mobster seeking money, but someone who "just wants to watch the world burn." Another theme in the comic books which the movies have ignored up to this point is the idea of escalation. Batman may have scared the criminals initially, but sooner or later they were going to fight back, and some of them can employ the same theatrics and deception to instill terror in good people that he does to criminals. This idea -- that maybe Batman creates the freaks he fights -- just complexifies his dilemma.
And then, there's also Nolan's emphasis on realism. Usually a movie this complex and intricate is bound to have some plot holes; I implore the reader to try find any, even after multiple viewings. We see Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent working together to try and stop the reign of terror of a madman they just don't understand. We see them suffer through difficult choices as innocent lives get caught in the mix, and Bruce Wayne realize that maybe Batman is something he's going to have to do forever, that his dream of a normal life may never materialize. This is best exemplified by the transformation of Harvey Dent to Twoface.
This movie will require multiple viewings, even if you just want to convince yourself of what you just saw. Whether or not Nolan returns for a third entry in the series is debatable. But, for now, he's made the perfect Batman story.