Dark

Rating: Null/10 (22 July 2008)

Christopher Nolan has taken the comic-adaptation genre to a new height, nay, has created a new genre out of comics – the comics tragedy, and no oxymoron here.
The Joker is the "hero" in this movie, not Batman, with due respect to Christian Bale's excellent performance. But if Bale's performance is excellent, Heath Ledger's is monumental – who else can make Jack Nicholson look like an amateur performing the same role? But, let's be fair though. Nicholson was directed by Tim Burton to play The Joker as a comic caricature. Ledger played the character as a psychopathic anarchist, with a grim, macabre intensity that sends a shudder down your spine every time he speaks. Some even say that this role cost this great (with The Joker, Ledger has earned this honorific) actor his life. Christian Bale, with his appropriately non-heroic persona, takes Batman so much further into the realm of shade that the title is fully justified. This is on two plains. Visually, we have never seen a Batman that is so literally dark – even the logo is all but noticeable. Deep inside, Bruce Wayne is pushed to the limits as The Joker challenges his bottom line, questions his very identity. And I believe that Joker has won – in the prison cell where his is held, the bashing Batman administers on him look like something you see in "Rendition".
Top-notch actor Aaron Eckhart brings yet another dimension to this excellent sequel. Here's a man that Bruce West yearns to be, a fighter for justice that is not afraid to show his face. The fact that D.A. Harvey Dent also happens to be a rival for Rachel Dawes is another sore point. Dent, however, is a hero out of the Greek Tragedies, destined for a horrible fate.
Even the supporting roles are much more watchable than many lead roles in lesser movies. Thank heavens they have found someone who can act to play Rachel – Maggie Gyllenhaal brings to the somewhat plain character charm and zest all of her of her own. Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy are all actors who can carry a movie singlehandedly by themselves. As seasoned professionals, they provide first class support without trying to steal the scenes from the lead actors.
While acting is what distinguishes the movie, all the things that make for a good action thriller are there, and Nolan's masterful direction ensures a good balance. With just about everything going right for this movie, if it were to be remembered by only one thing, it will unquestionably Heath Ledger as The Joker.