Bale and Ledger's Battle Makes for an Unforgettable Knight

The Dark Knight is intended to be a follow up to the successful Batman Begins, but the film focuses more on the war between good and evil. Knight explains that the line between heroes and villains is blurry at best. How far will you go to be a hero if it means crossing the line? Can you go back to normal once it's too late? Batman learns a valuable lesson in crime fighting with the help of law enforcement and the Joker. The question remains is whether Batman heeds that advice for future reference, or ignore it completely. Only time will tell.

The film picks up where Batman Begins left off with Bruce Wayne (Bale) cleaning up Gotham City at night as Batman and sleeping through a seemingly dull business meeting. Wayne gets through his day successful with the help of butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and employee Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). At night as Batman, he meets Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) to discuss cases he can help on secretly. Bale wastes no time in illustrating Wayne's conflict over his public and secret lives. Batman has his share of admirers in Gotham's citizens with some taking the extreme as Batman clones. Wayne, on the other hand, watches from afar as his love interest Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) moves on with new DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

Unfortunately, Wayne has little time to fret over this romantic difficulty when the Joker (Heath Ledger) roars into Gotham with a vengeance. The criminal's only purpose is to cause as much pain as humanly possible for his personal enjoyment. Money doesn't matter much to him and alliances with other criminals get broken as often as possible. Wayne gears himself for a battle he thinks he can win, but he forgets to think about the big picture before getting his feet wet. He lives behind Batman's mask and initially ignores the fact that everyone else in his life is at risk. Who pays the ultimate price for Wayne's ignorance? Rachel? Harvey? Gordon?

Knight as a whole is a memorable movie because of Ledger's last completed performance before his death as the Joker. Everything Ledger did in the movie is unforgettable from his less than put together appearance. The runny white make up and the scar on his face showcase the Joker as the ultimate villain to be afraid of. The one villain Batman could not stop without getting his hands dirty. Bale's performance this time around shows Wayne going to extremes to protect Gotham from the Joker at the expense of himself and everyone else. Bale expresses Wayne's torment through his eyes as he surveys the extent of his actions and realizes that not every ending is a happy one.

In terms of the supporting cast, everyone performed wonderfully despite some storyline limitations. Despite being relegated to the background, Caine and Freeman provide some laughs as both their character work to protect Wayne's secret. Hopefully, both men will have larger parts if there's a third Batman movie. Oldman's Gordon is featured a little prominently by providing the movie with some reality based morality by warning Batman of the implications of his actions. Gyllenhaal's spunky performance as Wayne's love interest gives an added subtext that Katie Holmes failed to deliver as the same character in Batman Begins. She makes an effort for Rachel be more than window dressing, but never really gets much of a chance to.

The movie's biggest casualty is Eckhart's underdeveloped Harvey Dent. The audience pretty much goes into the film knowing he is fated to become the villain Two-Face from the other Batman movies and everything else. Eckhart's Dent states the obvious himself, "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Dent's transformation is rather disappointing because it's only used as a rushed plot sub-point. Eckhart's change took a little bit of time away from the film, but not enough to matter too much. Ledger and Bale's epic battle is the main draw, and it doesn't disappoint.

Ultimately, Knight is a film meant to be enjoyed by all movie goers. The plot offers enough action thrills and cultural subtext to entertain everyone. A rumored posthumous Oscar nomination for Ledger indicates his immense talent and what could've been, which is a crime that Batman never predicted.