Are you kidding?

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2009)

To think that this movie belongs in the top 100 movies of all time let alone the top five is ludicrous. You bet, it' quite a spectacle. But spectacle doesn't make a great movie. There's one truly great character and everyone knows it's Heath Ledger's Joker. That was a magical paring of great writing and great acting.
But what happened to the rest of the movie? Besides The Joker the film is merely almost good. That is if you like exceedingly dark and depressing movies that have little if anything to feel good about. It's mildly suspenseful at times but much of the action is telegraphed. Let's see some more stupid police who can't see another Joker getaway coming from a mile away.
I'm no wimp -- I can be engrossed by and accept wholesale carnage when it's in something like "Saving Private Ryan" -- but this is yet another movie in which it doesn't matter how many faceless civilians and police die just as long as there can be lots of shooting and car crashes and the stars are OK.
And what of poor Batman? Christian Bale does a creditable job in the role, yet this is really a movie about The Joker. The hero and who he is isn't nearly as well explored as the villain.
Besides Ledger the two old pros, Michael Cain and Morgan Freeman, play the most interesting characters. Gary Oldman does a decent job as James Gordon. The problem is we're never given any reason to doubt him yet there is this undercurrent to the character that maybe he's not really working for the good guys.
The scene where Batman hunts The Joker as SWAT teams come crashing into the building is one of the most confusing messes I've seen. There's no clear idea what's happening and why and The Joker's final capture is anticlimactic. The turn to the dark side by character Harvey Dent is poorly developed and in the final scenes, lacking much logic. And the suspension of logic -- especially when it comes to the evil doing of The Joker -- just goes too far.
In the end, despite Batman's expected saving of the child, the movie simply peters out with a muddled message and Batman zooming off on his motorcycle in the direction of -- we can only presume -- another sequel.
If you want a dark, action-packed film then see "Quantum of Solace." It's not a great film -- not nearly as good as "Casino Royal" -- but it's a fair shot better than "The Black Knight."