Review: The Dark Knight (and a comment on reviews)

I've decided to label my review posts as reviews to differentiate them from my more meandering personal entries and comments. This way if readers want to only read reviews or only personal entries they will know the type of entry right away from the title of the post. I realize that only a few people actually read this and I usually talk to those people about the contents of the entries in person anyway, but part of the fun of having a blog is deluding yourself into thinking you are writing for a vast hidden audience of internet fans. So, I address this to the world!

The Dark Knight (Contains spoilers)

When I first heard about a sequel to Batman Begins, I was excited. I haven't read any Batman comics, but I've always found Batman to be one of the most interesting of the standard superheros because his vigilante status and the harsh world of Gotham City. I like darker themes and I like my lead characters less squeaky clean than Superman. Nolan's Batman is less exaggerated and less comic than the previous versions; thus, his Batman is better able to address and depict more serious issues like the effect of fear on public behavior. This Batman can entertain, but also provoke thought. The Dark Knight had great potential for commentary on human nature.

For the most part, it did not disappoint me. It certainly stayed "dark" and also rather creepy. The descent of Gotham City from on the brink of hope with the emergence of the charismatic Harry Dent to plunging into complete panic and chaos fascinated me. It was completely believable, which made it scarier.

In these movies, Batman/Bruce doesn't go through much character development. He never really changes as a person or has any great realizations; rather, as the dialogue in the final scene notes, he seems to reflect the needs of the general public. If they need a hero, he will be one. If they need a target to blame and hate--someone to focus their anger on instead of each other or a villain they can't comprehend or reach--then Batman will be that person instead.

With the exception of Bruce's affection for Rachel, Alfred, and Commisioner Gordon, the character rarely displays personal motivation or feeling. His voice is robotic. His suit and mask conceal any subtle emotions that Christian Bale might convey. In his own movie, Batman tends to fade into the night while the others like Joker and Dent are bright, attention-grabbing lights. This could be considered a fault. Bale certainly won't be nominated for any acting awards for this role and you tend to remember his suit and gadgets more than his face or line delivery. I, however, like this interpretation. Whether intentional or not, this portrayal shifts the focus from one man to a larger world. It becomes not Batman's story, but the story of Gotham City reflected by him.

Joker certainly delved into the darker side of human nature as well. Although it has been said many times already, I'll say again that Heath Ledger's portrayal was impressive and very creepy. Although I feel the film itself has been slightly overrated, I don't believe Heath Ledger's performance has been overrated because of his death. Ledger embodies the chaos and "unstoppable force" that Joker represents perfectly.

He plays the part using an odd combination of awkward self-consciousness and focused drive towards and relishing of madness. The licking of his lips and other awkward gestures make the viewer feel uneasy. I'm not a very outgoing person and if I am forced to interact with a socially awkward and nervous person, I become much more nervous myself because they are unpredictable and I feel responsible for directing the conversation. The Joker says himself that people feel comfortable when they expect things, even if those things are horrible. By playing with odd mannerisms in the character, I feel Ledger really hits the level of contained, evil, unpredictability that makes viewers and other characters uneasy and on edge.

Although enjoyable, this movie wasn't perfect by any means. The mob subplot was confusing when you thought about it and not interesting enough to make you think about it. It seemed to be there only to give Batman the opportunity to beat up common criminals with fancy gadgets. The Dark Knight is around 2 and a half hours long; cutting the mob subplot or substantially downsizing it could have made it a much tighter 2 hour movie.

It also might have allowed the transformation of Harvey Dent to Two Face to occur more gradually. My friends and I agreed that he went from family guy/paragon to crazy, melty- faced villain far too quickly. Although his makeup was convincing (and gross), I couldn't completely buy his internal transformation in such a short amount of time. Not only that, but Two Face lasted less than a half an hour! You can't really be a villain if you have one failed kidnapping attempt and then are killed. I would have rather seen more of Two Face earlier in the movie, a more gradual conversion, and then a continuation into a potential future movie.

Rachel was still Rachel. I liked Maggie Gyllenhaal better than Katie Holmes, but the character is still your stereotypical plucky yet ultimately ineffective (and in need of saving by a guy) kind of girl. I did like that she chose Harvey over Bruce and I was surprised they killed her. I was not overly upset though. Even Batman didn't seem overly upset, and she was supposedly his great love! At least with her death we have the possibility of a better love interest in a sequel.

The editing and cuts towards the end got kind of Moulin Rouge spastic, but after thinking about it, I realized that it represented the chaotic things that were occurring at the end of the movie fairly well.

Overall, I rate this movie an 8 out of 10. Although it lost some control of its subplots and could have been shorter, it was a very enjoyable, dark superhero movie with some excellent acting and fun action scenes.