Who ever said becoming was better than become?

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2008)

It's an unwritten rule that in superhero movies, the sequels rarely to never live up to the standards of the original--how many of us were spellbound by THE MATRIX only to be jilted by its disastrous sequels? THE DARK KNIGHT squashes any presumptions that nothing could ever surpass the original, whose wholesome darkness, originality and excitement made it possible for comic book adaptations/blockbusters to become more than the sum of its genre. Christopher Nolan has outdone himself in every way possible.
BATMAN BEGINS was about Bruce Wayne's roots and his journey to becoming Batman. Very interestingly, the emotional arc of THE DARK KNIGHT is not on Batman (though Christian Bale is still solid as both charming Bruce and his darker alter ego), but rather on Harvey Dent's (an excellent Aaron Eckhart) crusade against corruption and how own eventual dark journey that, by either chance or choice, will shape him into a hero or a villain. The love story between Dent and Rachel Dawes, who cannot wait for Bruce anymore, is also what supplies THE DARK KNIGHT with its human heart, and what makes the film's dark turns all the more poignant and suspenseful.
Everything about THE DARK KNIGHT is edgier, from the music (the screeching buildup is at times unbearable) to the violence (the Joker's disappearing pencil trick will shock you). A great deal of this is indebted to Heath Ledger. If Ledger hadn't died tragically young last January, the sold-out midnight/3 am/6 am showings probably wouldn't have been as momentous, but the kudos for his performance still would've been higher than the skies. To say that his performance is majestic isn't enough--it transcends Brando and Cagney and de Niro and Malcolm McDowell's astonishing performance as Alex de Large. A film critic for Entertainment Weekly once wrote about Christian Bale in RESCUE DAWN that "I've never seen the actor look more at home with his own taut charisma." That praise has to be passed on to Ledger, who seems so comfortable with his madness it's truly terrifying; When I was in the crowded theater I thought, "this must've been what it was like back in 1955, when REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE came out, just after James Dean died." Ledger will become a cult figure, there is no doubt. This will be his biggest hit, it is inevitable. But once you surrender yourself to his exquisite madness, you're able to forget the fact that Ledger is gone and that the ghost on-screen is the last of what will remain.
The only quibble I have about THE DARK KNIGHT is the recasting of the Rachel Dawes character. Katie Holmes got a lot of unfair publicity during BATMAN BEGINS because of the media firestorm around her relationship with Tom Cruise. She even got a Razzie nomination. She is not this generation's answer to Bette Davis, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is actually the better actress of the two. But having already set up this character who is very crucial to Bruce's life, it's awkward to have another actress cast in that role. It's like trying to imagine anyone else but Ingrid Bergman falling in love with Humphrey Bogart during the Paris flashbacks of CASABLANCA. However, the role, already small and somewhat insubstantial, is a more diminished in this film than its predecessor, and it's only a minor annoyance to a practically perfect movie.
This is the film we've all been waiting for, and it's the film we deserve. I hope you all take in the unforgettably exciting atmosphere of the crowded theater, and remember the greatness of Heath Ledger that is lost, but with this film, it'll never be forgotten.