 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|
|
 email this review to a friend
Though I am not a conformist by nature, I will join with critics and viewers in bestowing the highest possible praise upon 'The Dark Knight', Christopher Nolan's follow-up to Batman Begins, with Christian Bale once again playing Batman and his billionaire alter ego Bruce Wayne. Nolan gets everything right here; this is undoubtedly one of the best superhero movies ever made, and also one of the best films of the year. There is the flawless conceptualization of Gotham City, as a place without hope, a dangerous and nihilistic landscape where people live in constant fear, and nothing can be defined simply in terms of good and evil. Batman's public image is declining; everyone sees him as a vigilante, and he has a number of clumsy and incompetent imitators, whom we see early on, along with a guest appearance by Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow, one of the bad guys from Batman Begins, otherwise known as psychiatrist Jonathan Crane. Bruce has adopted the characteristics of Tony Stark, visibly wielding his wealth and influence, carting around beautiful women in yachts and helicopters; his corporation is run by the dependable scientific genius Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who serves as the equivalent of Q from the James Bond flicks; it is he who makes all of Wayne's flashy, high-tech gadgets, and designs his costume. Fox knows that Wayne and Batman are the same person, and so does Alfred (Michael Caine), the loyal butler, as well as Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes), the assistant DA. Dawes and Wayne are romantically linked, but she is currently involved with the charismatic DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), who has committed himself to eliminating Gotham's organized crime syndicates, a task Batman is willing to help him with. Assisting them further is the incorruptible police lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman). The mob wants Dent dead, and Batman, too, but Dent is an easier target. The reigning Mafia kingpin is Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts), and a corrupt Chinese businessman named Lau (Chin Han) vows to protect Maroni's money, which is stored in banks around the city; he plans on flying back to Hong Kong and transporting the money to a secured location only he knows about. But Batman tracks him down and returns him to Gordon and Dent; Lau does not hold up well under pressure. A new criminal mastermind emerges on the scene, known only as The Joker (Heath Ledger). He is a sadistic lunatic who wears clown make-up, and whose mouth is permanently contorted into a twisted smile. He believes that Gotham deserves a better class of criminal; he seeks to upset the existing moral order, and create chaos. He is not motivated by greed; in fact, at one point, he incinerates an enormous mound of cash and makes it clear that he does what he does because he enjoys it. He is fiendishly clever, and eludes both Batman and the cops, tricking and taunting them. He wants Batman to reveal his true identity, and promises to kill people until this occurs. He targets prominent officials, like the commissioner, mayor, a judge, and Dent. Dent, as fans are aware, is transformed into Two-Face, played by Tommy Lee Jones in Batman Forever. The Joker is able to achieve this transformation in a particularly cruel way, cruel not only to Dent, but also to Batman, or more precisely, to Bruce Wayne. The Joker is captured but manages to escape, and plots an even more wicked scheme, where he wires two large ferries with explosives, leaves the detonators to the passengers, and then instructs them to make a seemingly impossible choice; the only way to survive is to blow up the other ship, one of which is carrying prisoners. This gets at the heart of what makes the Joker more than just a villain; he presents his victims with ethical dilemmas, and forces them to make decisions that may save their lives, but cost the lives of others. Though this does not mean he is above acts of cold-blooded murder. He is psychotic and frightening beyond words. Much of the hype surrounding this movie concerns Ledger, and what would be his final role; he died back in January, at the age of 28. This is his finest performance, and it would not be incorrect to predict that he could win (or at least be nominated for) a posthumous Oscar. His Joker is brilliant and chilling, and he surpasses Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 version. Nicholson's Joker was there for laughs, was never intended to be taken seriously; but Ledger's Joker is menacing, creepy, and deeply disturbing; there is nothing funny about him, except for how he relishes his own madness. Bale is moody and intense, and that is how it should be, since Bruce Wayne is a troubled and fallible person, not much different than the rest of us, and Bale illustrates that more convincingly than any of his predecessors. Eckhart is excellent as Dent, the righteous crusader, whose sad fate requires him to abandon his inherent goodness and inflict harm upon those he feels have wronged him, thus becoming no better (and perhaps even worse) than many of the men he has put behind bars. Gyllenhaal and Oldman are terrific, and it is always a pleasure to see veteran actors Freeman and Caine, who never hit a false note in their crucial supporting parts. The special effects are astounding, and exhilarating action sequences mesh beautifully with compelling psychological drama. Nolan and his brother Jonathan wrote the intelligent, richly textured, and emotionally engaging script. The majestic and imaginative cinematography by Wally Pfister renders this world as uncompromisingly bleak and consistently unsettling. What a spectacular achievement for Nolan, who has revitalized the Batman franchise, following its downturn under the guidance of Joel Schumacher. Nolan's next project, whether he continues with Batman or not, is eagerly awaited. email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
RSS | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About MatchFlick® | Press | Contact Us | FAQs
Partnership and Advertising Opportunities | Movie Database | Merchandise ©2004-2008 MatchFlick®. All rights reserved. ©MOVIE IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT PROTECTED AND THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS |