"The Dark Knight" is a shining and moving piece of cinema!

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2008)

Let me begin by saying that what I expected to see was another super-hero movie with a clichéd storyline  the good vs. evil thread, the megalomaniac who turns evil with excessive power, the humble common-man who becomes the hero, etc. I expected to see the quintessential super-hero movie with oodles of patriotism and boisterous bravado, none of which I thought would justify the 200 bucks I spent on the ticket.
What I saw instead was a grim tale of a city going through dark times, besieged by crime and corruption, further exacerbated by a maniacal madman whose primary objective is the spread of absolute anarchy. A movie which transcended the level of all other super-hero movies by providing not only a scintillating visual spectacle, but more importantly also a deep psychological treatise on the best and the worst amongst us and the factors that motivate us to be either supremely good or maniacally bad. And let me say that it was worth the 200 bucks!
Plot-Summary: The story begins with a violent bank robbery orchestrated by a masked man who calls himself the "Joker". We are given an indication of his ruthlessness, when he double-crosses his accomplices, killing them mercilessly. Then, we are introduced to "The Mob", whose wings have been clipped by Batman's heroics (Christian Bale). The Mob's operations are shut-down and its members indicted by the legal acumen of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the newly appointed crime-intolerant District Attorney (D.A.), with the help of a beautiful assistant Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). The Joker suggests that in return for half their financial assets, he neutralizes Batman, to which the Mob reluctantly complies. The rest of the movie chronicles the war between The Batman and the D.A. Harvey Dent on one side and the Joker on the other. As the war progresses, we see the balance constantly tilt in favor of the evil, helping to maintain the overpowering sense of gloom, which serves as harbinger of a dark future.
It might not be completely "new", but it is the manner the story unfolds that leaves you spellbound and deeply unsettled. There is a careful examination of the moral conundrum that Batman and Harvey Dent face as they go about dealing with crime in the city. Harvey Dent is the kind of hero that Gotham City deserves: fighting crime with legal recourse, but the vigilante Batman is the one that it needs currently. The Batman feels that Dent's methodologies are more suitable for a civilized society, but is forced to don the mantle of an outlawed vigilante. Both of these men face tough choices when they are confronted by an evil madman who is not motivated by money, but by the pure black desire for absolute chaos. The Joker threatens the city with increasing violence as a bait for Batman to reveal his true identity. The troubling conundrum comes up: should Batman give himself up to prevent bloodshed and cause a moral victory for the anarchist ideology or should he risk it in order to subdue the Joker?
On the performance front: Christian Bale as the Batman/Bruce Wayne manages to switch rather effortlessly in the two persona: being the persistent Batman, while also being the flamboyant millionaire. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, the crime-tough D.A. gives a moving performance as a good, earnest man who is befallen by tragedy. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachel Dawes as a mixture of toughness and tenderness. The rest of the cast is also spot-on.
But the one that beats 'em all, is the portrayal of the Joker by the Late Heath Ledger, whose performance is stellar and superlative. It is not everyday that one gets to experience evil in its purest form. Throughout the movie, I found myself spell-bound by this Joker, grudgingly admiring his capacity at evil! I couldn't help finding him more dynamic than the "good" but rather rigid Batman. This ambivalence of feelings is a testament of Ledger's portrayal of the Joker: he manages to make a character whom you should despise into a character whom you are mildly amused with! His is truly a spine-chilling performance!
At 2hours 45mins, this movie is indeed unusually long, but there was never a dull moment in the movie and the screenplay kept things tight. The direction and cinematography is spot on, managing to capture a range of emotions on different characters, all from the most strategic angles. The special effects were spectacular and complemented the stylish action on screen.
There are a lot of moments in this movie that gives you goose-bumps. Most of them have the Joker and Harvey featured prominently. These two characters steal the show from the Batman. Particularly memorable is the moment when the Joker tells Batman that "when the chips fall down, these so-called 'civilized' people will become wolves and chaos would ensue". Later on, when such a 'chip-falling' situation occurs (not revealed because it would be a plot-spoiler), in a spine-chilling moment, we realize that the Joker's prediction might come true. In that moment of epiphany, you realize that The Joker is simply a doppelganger of the Batman  the evil complementary alter-ego which completes the whole.
Its already on the Top 250 list within the top 10. Whether it is worthy of such a spot shall no doubt kick a storm in IMDb's message boards. What is more relevant as the troubling questions it raises (which have tremendous parallels to the real world). This movie is indeed an unusual entrant  a super-hero movie which crosses its genre and becomes a poetically grim dissertation on the dilemma that we all face: whether it is prudent to become evil in order to fight evil. And yes, Heath Ledger deserves to be at least nominated (if not win) for the Oscars for his haunting performance  it was his parting shot which deserves to be honored.
Bottom-line: A fantastic masterpiece!