A Great Epic

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 2009)

What I still like after seeing it a couple of times at home is that Christopher Nolan created in cinema what comic fans appreciate in the drawn medium : a sense of continuity. Wayne Manor is still under reconstruction, the Dark Knight has already profoundly left his mark on Gotham, Lieutenant Gordon slowly ascends to Commissioner. But please, give me your light on this : how come he has not confronted the Joker face to face in the one year interval separating the end scenes with the Joker card in Batman Begins from the beginning of TDK ? Given his determination to eradicate crime, such a long wait seems strange. Fans already told everything on TDK so I would just like to express a personal interpretation of what makes such a rare quality in the superhero films genre. The secret resides in Christopher Nolan's pertinent treatment of redundant themes in the Batman's myth.
1) Batman's influence. "You have changed things", says the Joker. There is no coming back, the mantle of the bat has already inspired a large bunch of copycats and given hope to many citizens, he is already an essential part of the city. His legend is firmly installed. But the influence of Batman also brings the egg and chicken question : does Batman exist to stop the criminal element or is it because of his work that criminals as imposing and theatrical as he arise ? The Burmese story of Alfred gives as an echo to the intrigue an interesting point of view on the Joker. He embodies in evil what Batman embodies in good, his pleasure and criminal energy feed on destruction rather than material possessions. A super terrorist, "agent of chaos" as he defines himself. This confrontation breeds doubt in Batman : is it right to burn the whole forest to get rid of one single malignant element ?
2) Batman's ambivalence. He bends the law a little to pursue his quest for justice until one small problem comes : what if he had to break his whole code of morality in the face of madness ? The Joker's interrogation and the violation of privacy through phones show Batman resorting to a certain dose of fascism, that is why fans like him, because he is human and sometimes gets reactionary. He does not always remain the boyscout Superman or friendly neighborhood Spiderman. The story of Two-Face appears in a somewhat shorter version compared to that of the comics, nevertheless with ingenuity. Dent could have been the true hero, "the White Knight", he became instead what Batman could have become if desperation had taken over after his parent's murder : a criminal. Everyone ends in frustration, morally stained with a load of mental tortures in their heads. This is the Batman spirit.
The general critical appreciation largely complete the commercial and deserved success of the film. With the present Batman Begins and Dark Knight diptych, Nolan achieved what Burton didn't, and probably didn't want to : a solid base for a movie serial. Let's hope he will keep his writing and directing quality for the further installments.