A Different Experience

Rating: 10/10 (25 July 2008)

The Dark Knight was a different kind of movie experience for me. It was intelligent, confusing, long, and raised some concerns.
First off, it was intelligent because the movie's story line was very intricate. This is one movie you have to pay constant attention to since it felt like it lasted forever, (157mins actually). But that is not to say that the movie was boring. It contained many twists, turns, and misdirections  too many for the average movie adaptation genre - that halfway through the The Dark Knight's twists one would think it would have to be the climax soon. From hindsight, it seems fortunate now that I watched the movie alone, otherwise, I would not have enjoyed the fullness of the movie.
What really was intelligent about the film was The Joker. He was the perfect schemer. He was amoral, dark, and (dare I say) disturbed. In the film, he toyed with Gotham City and it's caped crusader at the palm of his hands. Everything fell into place as he planned. Eventually, things came to an end when the "unstoppable force" met the "immovable object" (think Matrix's paradox in terms of the story line, not in terms of visual experience). The Joker was really good at his craft. The opening heist was a foretaste of things to come.
If the movie ended from the point of view of The Joker, this film could have been about The Joker. The title could have been something like "The Made-up Menace". Seriously, The Joker felt overpowering in the story, and the Batman was just being the Batman.
I could say that I am a casual Batman fan, having caught all the movies since 1989 (Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997)), the first animated series after that (Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1997)), the animated movie (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)), Batman Begins (2005), and this one. From "Batman", the franchise developed its movies to become gradually more colorful than the other, culminating with "Batman & Robin" where the villains and (alas) the heroes were at their most colorful (from icy bluish white with Mr. Freeze, to bright green and flaming pink with Poison Ivy, and Batman, Robin, Bat Girl with every color in between!) Colorful accident aside, Batman and Robin gave the franchise a Power-Rangers feel but The Dark Knight changed all that. The Dark Knight presented a more "real" Gotham, real characters, and most importantly a real story.
What was confusing, taking all the movies of Batman together, was how to string the stories together. Understandable, Batman Begins presented the genesis of Batman, but how does one put The Dark Knight vis-a-vis Batman? Parallel universes? Painfully real (The Dark Knight) and the naively goofy (Batman)? Overall, the movie is not one for all fans. Keep the kids away. I was having the urge to discourage parents (mostly male, who were perhaps Batman fans like me) initiating their children to their favorite hero. The movie experience might be to dark and heavy to handle for the fragile minds of the young ones).
The movie is not for all ages, but a brilliant choice for those who can. Just remember to pay attention.