Reviewed by Melissa Garza
“I believe whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you… stranger” – The Joker (Heath Ledger)
“Dark Knight” is the most talked about film in a very long time. The anticipation has been near torture. The trailers and ad campaign hinted marvelously at what to expect while still the movie itself was a mystery. Sure, we knew that The Joker (Heath Ledger) one of the greatest villains was returning to the big screen in a more sinister form, but how the battle would play out remained unseen.
Rarely, does the build for a movie such as this equate to the payoff. Most of the time, one is let-down when entering with the highest of expectations. Here, that is not the case. “Dark Knight” delivers on all fronts.
The film opens with The Joker and his gang of thugs robbing a bank ran by the mob. He has guts. One by one, as The Joker puts his plan into action, he murders those that have helped him. In the end, he stands alone.
The Mob is up in arms and places a bounty on The Joker. They hold a meeting to determine exactly what to do about the nuisance. The nuisance crashes the meeting and it is then that the audience is properly introduced to the wonderfully insane and sinister mind of The Joker. The Joker is not a man without principle. His principle however is in exact opposition of what every average man and even every average criminal would consider acceptable. He exists to create chaos and to prove that even the most upstanding citizens and the most devoted heroes would easily transcend into darkness if pushed hard enough.
Without question, The Joker is the show. At first, I was apprehensive when I learned that the late (and now it’s safe to say ‘great’) Heath Ledger had been cast in the role. I knew he was a good actor. I had seen his work before, but The Joker is a personal favorite of mine. It is no small task to portray such an enjoyably insane and downright frightening character, and at the time I heard, I didn’t quite see Ledger in that role. Now, it is difficult to imagine anyone else reprising it. He created someone that with the most heinous and disturbing of actions can still bring about a laugh. In a cast of such amazing actors to seemingly easily steal the scene away from them is astounding. Yet, that is what Ledger does. As soon as the Joker enters the room, all eyes are on him.
What makes him even more captivating is that in a strange way his ramblings are logical. They make sense. When the ultimate faceoff between The Joker and Batman transpires, the exchange is magnificent. The strange connection that The Joker feels for Batman is explored in an electrically charged way.
The supporting cast is great. Fans of the very talented Gary Oldman will be elated that his role is much larger here than in “Batman Begins.” It goes without saying that he delivers. Both Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine perfect their roles and make what could have been scenery characters into something much more dynamic. Christian Bale does even better this time around as Batman and Bruce Wayne. He has made the character into something new and something much darker than we’ve ever seen on screen before. Maggie Gyllenhaal, who never fails to impress, brought forth a much more faceted and captivating ‘Rachel Dawes’ than her predecessor Katie Holmes had.
Another performance that stood out and captivated was Aaron Eckhart’s. Harvey Dent was gifted with some of the best dialogue in the film. Eckhart delivered every line perfectly and when the transformation to Two Face occurs, it is not only believable but sympathetic.
In the end of this perfect film, there was one thing that was disturbing. At one point, Batman decides to surveillance all of Gotham by setting up a system that has the ability to monitor all cell-phone use and conversation. Though, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) makes some excellent point against using the machine and even offers his resignation because it has been introduced, the general sentiment of the closing sequence is that ‘just this once, because The Joker is so evil we can diminish the civil liberties of the people.” At that point for me, Batman was no longer a dark hero but an excellent candidate to work for the current administration.
Off the soapbox, “Dark Knight” will go down as one of the greatest films our generation has to offer. In the most recent times I don’t remember a movie quite worthy of a perfect score, yet this one easily attains it.
Scared Stiff Rating: 10/10.
