An Overly Depressive and Deceptively Contrived Superhero

Rating: 7/10 (20 January 2019)

23 July 2008. The Dark Night (2008). Heath Ledger saves Batman. It is the singular performance of Heath Ledger that saves Batman from descending into a overly dense and overly hypocritical fusion of dark action shots, twists and turns, predictable scenes (surviving bullets), confusion and smoke and mirrors that many might consider quality art. But underneath there lies obfuscation hiding the fundamental weaknesses of this movie. The chase scenes using the artificial placement of innocent bystander vehicles placed in the most unlikely locations. The Joker's escape from the holding cell without detailing how that is so unrealistic (as think Hannibal Lector holding cell). The raw nastiness of the human spirit lowers this movie into a vision so dark and awful that it becomes a condemnation of human society in general with only brief beacons of light that appear more for scriptwriter, acceptability sake than for cinematic integrity. The beginning unnecessary voice narrative of the burglars. The dizzying and apparently unremarkable fight scenes. The uncertainty of who is good and evil, the blurring of the lines of role models - that turn the comic book image into a direct mirror of reality instead of idealism. The attempts at moralist messages and emotional deaths, the guilt trips, the violation of basic human rights in the cause of anti-terrorism and the upholding of lies and deceit and obliteration of the truth. The one outstanding feature is the mentally unbalanced purity of pure Joker craziness is so compelling as to keep the movie centered around this singular performance, holding all the loose, chaotic pieces together. Seven out of Ten Stars.