Movie Review : the Dark Knight

Spoilers NOT present. Feel free to read on for an overview of The Dark Knight.

I have problems with your basic super hero movies. They are almost always sickeningly kid friendly, plot-numb, and filled with tedious action sequences and one liners that make me want to hang myself. Let's not forget some that have ridiculous CGI and even more ridiculous acting.

Likewise, after four Batman movies in the 90's and Batman Begins in 2005, which was far superior, it's safe to say that I've just about had my fill of Batman movies. And it doesn't help that most of the other super hero movies of the 90's and 2000's are just plain awful. Many of them are so preoccupied with good versus evil that they fail to explore the true dark side of humanity, which is to say that human beings are more full of grey than they are full of black and white, that we are capable of just about anything depending on the situation.

The Dark Knight (directed by Christopher Nolan) is brazen, violent, rude, crude and everything in between, which is perfect for me. It has no problem with taking lives, rending hearts and delivering some heavy action scenes that are surprisingly light on GCI. It is not afraid to challenge its characters and leave you, the viewer, wondering "What would I do in their shoes?"

I will echo nearly everyone who has seen this movie by saying that Heath Ledger's Joker is delightfully good. This Joker is a seething, beautiful mess, truly addicted to chaos for chaos's sake. Nicholson's Joker is no longer the end-all, for Ledger's leaves one feeling awestruck, curious and sick, yet somehow like smiling. He explains his anarchist philosophy so poignantly that you sort of want to go burn down some buildings after the movie. And he knows how to take a punch! Ledger's performance is so spectacular that I'm having trouble getting him out of my mind.

Christian Bale is good, but not as good as Ledger. He carries the mantle of the Dark Knight as you figure he will, boldly, tenaciously and with violent brute force. He is believable as a feared vigilante both by Gothamites and the mob. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face does a respectable job as a feared district attorney but is just mediocre when he finally turns to the dark side. Same with Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. She's smart, cute and willful, but just doesn't have enough wiggle room to make much of her character.

Commissioner Gordon's character is elevated in The Dark Knight, and he makes the most of it by turning his stalwart cop figure into a reluctant hero, weaving his way through catastrophe after catastrophe with zealous caution, always on the edge of losing control yet somehow keeping the Gotham police force right on the heals of the bad guys.

There are enough twists and turns in this movie that you begin to wonder if the Joker is, in fact, just as invincible as Batman. What ensues is an epic struggle between the two that leaves Gotham city in complete shambles, scores of dead and at least two hearts shattered beyond repair. And the descent into darkness brings Batman and Commissioner Gordon closer together as they share some final, terrible truths.

There are some weaknesses in this movie, one being the silly grunting tone Bale uses to disguise his voice when he is Batman. At first it isn't so bad but becomes distracting as the movie wears on. And while there are some great action sequences filled with fabulous car crashes, truck smashes, flying bullets and a good amount of violence, the hand to hand combat was shot primarily in a befuddling darkness and was just a tad bit dull.

Regardless, the best Batman movie ever.

Just go see it. Batpods rock.

I give The Dark Knight an 8.75 out of 10.