A Tale of Two Knights

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2008)

It is the best of times, it is the worst of times to write a review. I just came back from watching The Dark Knight and my hands are a little sweaty from the thrill. In a way, I feel that is unfair to write about a film such as this after just one view. Like with any other great film, you need to watch it a few times to actually capture every detail, to have a broader, more serene vision of the different levels of the plot and the symbolism behind the action, and believe me, there's plenty of action, and I don't mean only the typical sequences that we are supposed to expect from a summer blockbuster, you know those that sometimes seem to be made by the numbers (1= Explosion, 2= Car chase, 3= Fist Fight, Etc.), in this film that kind of scene actually seems secondary to some little moments that are full of meaning, such as: A convict getting hold of a detonator to do what none else is willing to, or The joker sanitizing his hands at a hospital.
Visual gems like these are the ones that actually move the plot forward and make it unique. They transform a simple story of good vs. evil and turn it into an exploration of morality, of the hopes that feed our dreams and the fears that fuel our nightmares. It would be easy to be tricked by the summary and believe that this movie is about the confrontation between Batman and the Joker, but I believe that Harvey Dent is the real center of the plot, the first two hours of the movie seem to be a prologue to his character behavior in the last 30 minutes, it's about him and his fight between light and darkness, where Batman and the Joker, like gods on a Greek tragedy, pull him in opposite directions, shaping his fate, but it is him who incarnates the message at the core of this film, that in human nature, good and evil are just two faces of the same coin.
According to the trivia here, Nolan was influenced by Michael Mann's Heat (1995), and it does show in the tone and the message of this movie, however comic book fans will be satisfied by the multiple references to graphic novels like The Killing Joke, The Long Halloween and The Man Who Laughs. I know I was particularly happy to see a reference to Batman: Year One near the end of the movie: a moment that is fundamental to the relationship between Batman and Jim Gordon. In a year that has seen great adaptations from the comic book to the screen, The Dark Knight by far is the best of them all, it keeps all the key elements of the story and the characters from the Batman canon, while presenting them in a cinematic language and narrative that makes it a true work of art.
You can not talk about the quality of The Dark Knight without making a reference to the acting. Bale, Caine, Oldman, Freeman and Gyllenhaal make a magnificent ensemble, delivering pitch perfect lines and grounding a superhero movie into reality with the very human interactions of their characters. And yet, incredible as it might seem, their performances pale next to those of Eckhart and Ledger. Eckhart gives us a roller coaster ride with a performance that goes from messianic politician, to man in love, to tortured soul and that literally kept me on the edge of my seat (I always thought this to be hyperbole used by critics, but no, it actually happens). A lot of ink and bytes have been spent on Ledger's performance, so I won't waste your time or mine trying to describe it. I just can say, if you are going to compare him to Jack Nicholson think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) or The Shinning (1980).
Chris Nolan has created with The Dark Knight one of those rare occasions when a sequel is actually better that a very good original. It's in a very exclusive league with the likes of Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Godfather: Part II (1974). Great part of it's success being that it doesn't make you feel like is just another link for a franchise. Recently the IMDb poll asked what was my Christopher Nolan favorite movie to date and I answered Memento (2000) without hesitation, now I would have to answer differently. The Dark Knight is a far, far better film that he does, than he has ever done; is a far, far better film that I go to, than I have ever known.