Nolan's Bat Brilliance

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2008)

Christopher Nolan has done something incredible with this movie. As I right this several days after I saw the Dark Knight, several days after it's opening, The Dark Knight is the highest rated movie of all time on IMDb. I find this fascinating for several reasons. Is The Dark Knight the most cinematically brilliant movie ever made? No. Is The Dark Knight the most entertaining movie ever made? No. Is the Dark Knight the best written movie ever made? No. What The Dark Knight does have is an incredibly well balanced mix of all three. And, one of the greatest performances I have ever seen, certainly the best by a villain, played by an actor who, we now realize, would have probably evolved into the next great actor of our generation had he lived.
Any discussion of The Dark Knight must begin, and end, with Heath Ledger. With his performance as The Joker, he is unrecognizable as the Heath Ledger as we know him from interviews. He completely transforms. Every piece of his performance is crafted perfectly, along with a brilliant technical use of camera acting skills, so that it becomes truly what modern acting on should be. An independent and artistic creation, recursive and contained within the film itself. A masterwork.
That being said.
The movie itself is not perfect from any stand point, but it combines all aspects very well into something that hasn't really been seen before. The script is a little long, and there is a plot development involving Aaron Eckhart's character which tries to cram too much psychology into too short a time. The cinematics and structure are excellently crafted, but nothing that hasn't been seen before. The movie doesn't have the most exciting fights ever.
But, this is what it does have. Each piece of this film is carefully founded on a deep mythology, based in the comic books, but compressed onto the screen, that is able to combine equally all of those above elements so expertly, it's hard too see how anyone would be disappointed. Carefully layering one piece on top of each other, and combining it with great acting, you discover a movie that is not an Oscar movie, not a blockbuster, but something greater than the sum of all it's parts. A movie that is can discuss deep psychology and moral issues, be entertaining, and be an art film, all at the same time.
This movie is brilliant.