The Talented Mister Nolan
Written: Jul 22 '08 (Updated Jul 22 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Under Chris Nolan's guidance, Batman comes of age. Scary and deep.
Cons: The Two Face plotline and The Joker plotline aren't wrapped up all that well.
The Bottom Line: Chris Nolan has elevated the Batman franchise past "comic book" status with a deep and engaging story and a Joker character who is as fascinating as is he despicable.
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| whaler66's Full Review: The Dark Knight |
Epinions Rating: (Four Stars)
Whaler 66's rating: (Three And A Half Stars)
I wanna be fair here. The Dark Knight just misses a four star grade by a whisker. For starters, I really think that the plot line involving the Harvey Dent character is wrapped up a bit to hastily. It seems like screenwriters Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan were a bit perplexed as to do what they wanted to do with the Harvey Dent character at films end. I also had a bit of a problem with the way that The Joker plot line was wrapped up. We see The Joker delivering a speech after a battle with Batman and then he's never mentioned again. Plus, I wished that The Joker had committed that one final act of treachery. The film has already established the fact that The Joker is a man who isn't above sacrificing people just to prove a point.; might as well put the icing on the cake. My main qualm with the Dark Knight lies with its last act; the fact that we aren't given a taste of what will happen in Chris Nolan's next Batman film. Speaking for myself, I can't wait to see where Christopher Nolan is going to take this franchise next. I'll guess I'll just have to ponder what happens next with the caped crusader.
OK... now the good stuff. I absolutely loved the way The Joker (Heath Ledger) is used in "The Dark Knight." Keep in mind, the Joker has very few scenes. In fact, he's off screen for a good portion of the film. To me though, this is what makes The Joker all the more intriguing. By keeping him off screen, Christopher Nolan heightens the anticipation factor. You get that tingle down your spine whenever The Joker IS on the scene. When The Joker is on the scene, you know that somebody is going to get the worst of it. Let me sort of expound on my previous point; the anticipation factor for The Joker. There's a really neat moment when DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is being escorted into protective custody by the Gotham PD via an armored truck. This whole situation is precipitated by the threat The Joker makes against Dent a bit earlier. The truck is humming along... Dent seems safe....... and then a semi pulls up along side the truck and we see The Joker.... aiming at it with a rocket propelled hand cannon. The thing is... the Nolan brothers screenplay never telegraphs where The Joker will turn up next. A good example of this is the moment where The Joker crashes a Bruce Wayne sponsored fundraiser for Harvey Dent. A seemingly sedate soiree turns into chaos in the blink of an eye. We see The Jokers men moving in and then we see The Joker himself; his entrance punctuated with a kicked in door and a double barrel shotgun. The best way to get my attention is to surprise me and The Dark Knight is chocked full of surprises.
There's one thing that separates Chris Nolan's Joker from Tim Burton's Joker.... Nolan's Joker isn't a plot prop, he's not just some cartoonish oaf who's waiting to be slaughtered at the end of the film. Chris Nolan's Joker represents the painful flip side of Bruce Wayne's choice to become Batman; the notion that even our most noble of actions have a consequence, a trickle down effect of sorts. I love the little game that The Joker (Ledger) plays with Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) during the first act of "The Dark Knight." This is when The Joker threatens to slaughter a whole bunch of innocent people unless Batman un masks. The dilemma here is absolutely delicious; if Bruce/Batman stands his ground and doesn't unmask..... he risks the lives of innocent Gothamites and the people close to him. If he quits being Batman.... he risks handing Gotham over to The Joker on a silver platter. To me, this is what makes "The Dark Knight" more than just a comic book film.
Plot: Gotham City has been humming along rather nicely since Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) decided to become a masked vigilante named Batman. The baddies are being locked up in record numbers, Gotham City seems to be emerging from its corruption filled past. Things are so good..... Bruce Wayne is thinking of letting Gotham stand on its own two feet... WITHOUT Batman. Of course, Bruce's change of heart can be traced back to his love for one woman.... Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal.) Bruce figures, with Gotham settled in, he can finally abandon the Batman persona and he and Rachel can finally be together. Problem is, Rachel is in love with Gotham's newest DA, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart.)
Fast forward a bit. A rather unhinged criminal named The Joker (Heath Ledger) has just landed in Gotham City. His goal is simple.... he wants to watch Gotham City cannibalize itself. For The Joker, the way only to do this is to create as much chaos as possible. Oh yah, The Joker is also determined to expose Batman as a fraud, as a creature with a heart as dark as his. When he succeeds in turning the public against Batman, The Joker quickly moves on to phase two of his plan. Phase two involves an attack on everyone Bruce Wayne/Batman works with or is close to. This would include LT. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldham) assistant DA Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and the current DA, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart.) I'll stop there, you can decipher the rest of the plot on your own.
I must say, I was absolutely amazed by the performances in "The Dark Knight." EVERYONE chips in, this isn't only Heath Ledger's show. Aaron Eckhart has a great moment at the very end of the film. His speech about loss and consequence is filled with such power and such emotion. You really feel for Dent, especially when he tells Batman that he has nothing left, that he's lost everything that ever mattered to him. I mean, Eckhart really makes you feel Dent's agony. See, this isn't The Two Face character we saw in Joel Schumacher's "Batman Forever." Chris Nolan's "Two Face" is a REAL character, a hard driven do gooder who's lost everything he's held dear in a battle not of his own making. Harvey "Two Face" Dent is a real character and so is Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal.) I keep saying it, but gosh darn it.... the Dawes character isn't treated as a mere plot prop in Chris Nolan's universe. Rachel Dawes is tough and strong and you ache for Bruce when you realize what a good woman he let slip away. I think this is why the scene where Dawes and Dent wait to be rescued is oh so poignant. We care about these characters, that's why we're pulling hard for Batman to make the save. To me, the most impressive aspect of this scene is the build up to it. Just when you're ready to catch your breath, you find out The Joker has rigged up yet another game; a game that is designed to chip away at Batman's psyche even more.
While I'm heaping praise on Chris Nolan, I'll give him a big thumbs for the improved action sequences in "The Dark Knight." Very smooth, very fluent, the camera work is less herky jerky. This was my biggest issue with "Batman Begins." What remains Chris Nolan's greatest strength is his ability to handle huge, calamity filled sequences. In "Batman Begins" there's a great moment where Raj Al Ghoul unleashes a poison toxin into the air and all hell breaks loose. Chris Nolan's camera work was extremely tight during this sequence and the action was very easy to follow. It was like.... Nolan's camera was a sponge.... soaking up the madness and the tension of a panic filled Gotham. It's the same way in The Dark Knight. One moment that comes to mind occurs during the last act of film, it's when The Joker threatens to blow up Gotham hospital and LT Gordon (Gary Oldham) is forced to coordinate the evacuation of all of the sick Gothamites. Great cuts away here too; between Jim Gordon barking orders and Bruce Wayne racing to the scene in order to make sure that his favorite cop has back up against The Joker.
Is there to much exposition here? Maybe. Still, the overall payoff is well worth it. To me "The Dark Knight" takes off as soon as The Joker (Ledger) starts playing mind games with Bruce Wayne/Batman (Bale.) I know this... the visuals in this film are top notch. There's a cool sequence where we're looking inside the inner workings of a sonar transmitter; the very transmitter that Batman uses to track The Joker towards the end of the film. Nice touch with the Tumbler/Batmobile.... the way the shell splits apart during the self destruct sequence. The shell of The Tumbler/Batmobile splits apart and Batman comes flying out on his new toy... the bat pod.
Yah yah, I haven't talked about Heath Ledger's performance yet. Well, I thought I'd save the best for last. My only qualm with Heath Ledger's performance is the fact that he struggles with the tone of The Joker character from time to time. One minute Ledger channels the toxic side of The Joker and then he's sort of plays it like Caesar Romero.... the cackle and what not. Personally, I enjoyed The Joker character alot more when Ledger was playing it on a more toxic level. I'm thinking of that moment when The Joker tells a mob guy that he'll feed him to the dogs if he doesn't join him. When Ledger is playing The Joker on a more "toxic" level, it reminds me of Daniel Day Lewis' performance in "There Will Be Blood." Like Lewis, Ledger completely disappears into The Joker; we don't even see the slightest hint of the late actor peeking through. Ledger has such a confidence about him, he makes it seems so effortless..... the way he digs deep to bring out the sadistic quality of The Joker. I love that scene where The Joker and Batman tangle after Dent is kidnaped. Keep an eye on Ledger here, the moment where The Joker tells Batman that all of his bravado won't help him in the end. The way Ledger chews on his dialogue during this sequence.... you can't help but marvel at how good he is.
I wonder..... is it possible to enjoy the presence of a villain who is so utterly despicable? Is it possible for a summer blockbuster to be so engrossing while functioning within the confines of a popcorn flick? If Christopher Nolan is behind the camera the answer is a resounding... YES.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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Epinions.com ID:
whaler66
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Location: Chicago, Illinois
Reviews written: 186
Trusted by: 6 members
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