Certainly Dark

Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2012)

Oh, jeez, I'm quite late, aren't I? Okay.
I recently reviewed 'The Avengers', so I'd say it's time to review the other movie commonly regarded as 'the best superhero movie ever'. It's been praised to Kingdom Come, it's a phenomenon. And what do I think?
It's not.
Christopher Nolan is a good director. There's no denying that - Inception was fantastic. Technically, this film is fantastic. Heath Ledger (R.I.P) delivers an extremely haunting performance as the Joker, practically redefining the definition of a good villain. Aaron Eckhart, as well, stands out for his portrayal of Harvey Dent. Michael Caine is, of course, awesome and Morgan Freeman certainly isn't too shabby either. Christian Bale's a great Bruce Wayne and a pretty darn good Batman for what he was given to work with. The effects are pretty good as well, particularly when Joker blows up the hospital. Cinematography is good, and the score is actually great.
So, where did this movie fall apart for me? I'll break it down:
1) The pacing. This movie is very long - about 2 and a half hours. I don't have a problem with long movies, but the movie really started to feel more like the last stretch of a marathon rather than entertainment.
2) The writing. Okay, this is a big one. People praise this movie as perfect, but I think they're overlooking some major plot holes. How did Batman and Rachel survive after they fell at least 30 stories and landed on a taxi? What happened to Joker after he got into Wayne's penthouse? The first one is just weird, but second one is a major point that's never addressed in the movie.
3) Rachel Dawes. She's extremely unlikable, boring, and enforces a huge misstep in most works of fiction: she dies so that the male hero can have something to fight for. It's terrible, but I felt nothing when she died.
4) Joker. I mean absolutely no disrespect to Heath Ledger's memory when I say this. In fact, it saddens me to it. I've had 4 years to reflect on what Christopher Nolan's Joker is, and I've come to the conclusion that he just feels like someone who dresses up LIKE the Joker and infuses his own philosophies into it. He's not funny, he's just extremely terrifying. Nolan made a huge misstep with this character.
5) The tone. This movie is dark. It's violent. And it's overtly so. Some say it's to reinforce how 'realistic' this Batman's world is supposed to be - I say it's a 14-year-old's idea of what mature is. And a lot of the time, it misses the mark on what a superhero movie is supposed to be - entertaining. The Dark Knight forgoes this and becomes a philosophical cop drama that takes itself too seriously.
In conclusion, this is a technically excellent movie hampered by plot holes, an overtly dark tone, and other flaws.