The Dark Knight - Igor's Review

Right off the bat, I want to let you know that this review will be very light on spoilers for the most part. However, the end of this will be spoilerific. There will be a warning, but beware.

That having been said, let's jump into it.

Every once in a while, a movie is so well carried by one acting performance that it gains absolute epic status without being the kind of drawn out dramatic piece that have had success with the Academy lately. There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Men, for example, while indeed carried by the acting performances of Javier Bardem and Daniel Day Lewis, were also immaculately written with inescapably fantastic plots and characters backing them up.

The Dark Knight, on the other hand, had some flaws. The plot, while expansive and layered, had a few holes that threw me during the movie. Character motivations change rapidly, and it can be hard to keep up with what exactly the plan is. The message is overstated at times, with Michael Caine being used specifically to spout philosophical nonsense at the audience every time he had lines. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is still brilliant, and I love the continual dynamic that he has with this "friends". He is forced to be a stereotypical playboy billionare, and the acting there is very reminiscent of American Psycho. As Batman, however, his deep cover-up voice is just slightly campy, and usually unnecessary.

All that being said, I loved this movie with every inch of my being. Yes, it ran too long. Yes, I have no idea what actually happens to the villain(s). Yes, Batman's first entrance in the film is confusing and underwhelming. But none of that is the point. This movie is absolutely carried by the oscar-worthy performance of the late Heath Ledger. Yeah, I said it. Dead or alive, the man deserves the oscar more than anyone. He nails every fiber of the Joker. Facial expressions, ticks, voice, everything. It absolutely makes the movie.

Knowing way more than I should have known going into this movie (I'll deal with the topic of overzealous movie hype some other day), I still found myself shocked, frightened, and most of all impressed by Ledger's performance. He is in every sense and epic character, and possibly the best movie villain of all time. Let me repeat that. The Joker may very well be the best movie villain ever portrayed by anyone. Ever.

But it's more than that. Aaron Eckart nails down the part of good guy turned bad guy Harvey Dent, and his descent into madness adds a whole new layer of excellence. Pepper that with nice supporting numbers from Morgan Freeman, who continues to be the most badass CEO ever, Gary Oldman, who really comes into his own as a character here, and Maggie Gyllenhal, who replaces Katie Holmes in the role of Rachel Dawson. And thank god for that. Katie Holmes' flat performance in Batman Begins was a huge problem for me, and Maggie, while not necessarily impressive per se, manages to not annoy me for the entire movie, which is more than you can say for the vast majority of female leads in superhero movies (admit it, it's true).




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STOP READING IF YOU HAVENT SEEN IT

SERIOUSLY

JUST STOP IT

DON'T EVEN PEEK


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Some of the effects in this movie are absolutely stunning. How fucking cool was the truck-flipping bit? Also, the BatPod came off really well. There's a moment where Batman comes flying out from the side of a building sideways, and you can distintly see the front wheel spinning on another axis, allowing the BatPod to move sideways. Great touch there, I loved it.

I love some of the thematic elements thrown in for posterity. The Joker's continual willingness to kill himself just underscores the chaos that he embodies. He shows that in a world where there are no heros, the are no villains either. Yet all of this is so well contrasted by Two-Face's transformation from hero to villain. There were a few minor touches, like the Joker's simple line "I'm only burning my half of the money". I'm sure we all immediately thought of Harvey Dent, whose makeup work was both fantastic and horrifying at the same time.

A few questions: What happened to the Joker? We just kind of left him hanging there. And what happened to Harvey? Did he die in the fall? How could he be dead if Batman took a bullet to the chest, fell the same height and came out of it no worse for the wear?

Commisioner Gordon's (feels much better to put it that way, no?) death-but-not-really was a bit disjointed. I'm not sure how neccesary that was. Oh well.

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Was it a perfect movie? Not at all. But I for one am willing to forgive a whole lot when I am treated to such a memorable acting performance. What can I say? He really deserves an Oscar.

Go see this movie. It's that simple.

Rating: 93/100


For comparison:

The Good:
No Country for Old Men: 89/100
There Will Be Blood: 96/100
Batman Begins: 83/100
Magnolia: 94/100
Shoot 'Em Up: 86/100
Rear Window: 98/100

The Bad:
Garfield The Movie: 14/100
Epic Movie: 21/100
Beowulf: 17/100
Little Man: 3/100
Southland Tales: 41/100

The Ugly (because no one agrees with me on these):
Sin City: 56/100
The 300: 33/100
Lord of the Rings, Fellowship: 68/100
In the Valley of Elah: 94/100
28 Days Later: 92/100