Excellent Sequel to Batman Begins

Rating: 8/10 (17 July 2008)

One thing's for sure: comic book based movies are here to stay. Once before they were B-movie, red headed stepchildren with very miniscule budgets and low grade actors, now these films regularly attract A-list talent both in front and behind the camera. The latest in this summer comic book slate is THE DARK KNIGHT, the sequel to the well received and awesomely successful Batman reboot BATMAN BEGINS and continues right where it left off.
Where the first movie dealt with the origins of how and why Batman came to be, this sequel now moves onto a larger canvas: the storyline now revolves around the consequences of Batman's appearance in a city gripped by crime and hopelessness. With the demise of former mob boss Carmine Falcone's power in Gotham City, the various crime syndicates are now leaderless and trying to reconsolidate as Batman (Christian Bale) AKA billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne continues his relentless assault to restore order. In the first film director Chris Nolan portrayed Gotham as a sort of cross between the slums of Hong Kong and Chicago of the Al Capone era with lots of rain and gloom, now Gotham is depicted as being very similar to New York, with many massive high rises and somewhat sunnier skies, it seems Gotham is literally coming back to life.
But even with new fearless district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart in his best role to date), it seems the city is just a few steps ahead of the rising tide of criminality that is beginning to strike back against its newfound heroes and it manifests itself into a new and powerful adversary called the Joker (Heath Ledger in his final film role). I have always found that the main differences between the main comic book makers Marvel and DC is in the portrayal of their heroes- whereas Marvel superheroes tend to be average guys and gals who are thrust with superpowers and lots of responsibility, DC superheroes tend to be iconic representations of the human condition: Superman is a depiction of the ideals and greatness of mankind while Batman represents vigilantism and revenge. As the plot of the movie unfolds, the forces of law and order, represented by Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman once again reprises his role and it has been expanded considerably) and Harvey Dent, battle it out on the streets of Gotham city against the forces of criminality with mob bosses Eric Roberts and Michael Jai White (yes, the SPAWN guy is here too) allied with chaos and anarchy which is represented by the Joker with Batman the vigilante smack dab in the middle of it all. Despite Batman being on the side of order, his very methods create a copycat gang of vigilantes who style themselves after him which puts the city even closer to the brink. As all the swirling plot lines culminate into one big showdown, Batman must make his choices carefully as every action he takes creates unintended and sometimes tragic consequences.
The last great movie I saw since last year was NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN but I can say that THE DARK KNIGHT finally gives me a satisfaction that I had been missing for over a year now. The acting is superb with many old faces returning- Morgan Freeman is homely as Lucius Fox while Oldman has a larger role and consequently gets to shine even further. Maggie Gyllenhaal as the new Rachel Dawes is an infinitely better actress than her predecessor (though I thought Katie Holmes looked sexier even though she had zero talent) but her role is somewhat subdued and we never got more into her character. Christian Bale is adequate for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne though he doesn't seem to put in anything new to the character (I still think Micheal Keaton was the best movie Batman). The big question is obviously on Heath Ledger and he delivers a deliciously wicked and sadistic Joker- very similar to Jack Nicholson's take on the character and that's a compliment; my only peeve is that he wasn't given a permanent smile like the previous Jokers in the movie and comic book- slightly different take but still very, very entertaining and fits in well with Nolan's more realistic version of the venerable Bat franchise. It is sad that Ledger will never be able to reprise his role and his makeup seems so similar to that of the equally late Brandon Lee in THE CROW that the parallels are eerie. Unlike the past incarnations of the movie and cartoon Jokers, Ledgers performance has transformed the Joker from a villain with a smile on his face into anarchy incarnate- he is no longer just a bad guy but a force of nature. The big surprise here is Aaron Eckhart's portrayal of Harvey Dent- he steals every scene he is in and watching his fall from grace is like seeing that of an epic Shakespearean tragedy.
Terrific action sequences and nail biting suspense adds to an epic sequel: 8 out of 10.