I imagine if I ran into Chris Nolan and asked him about a random Batman comic book storyline from the eighties or nineties, he'd be able to converse about it for hours. This man knows Batman about as well as anybody. He expresses his respect and love for the character in practically every frame of his follow-up to 2005's Batman Begins. What Frank Miller did for Batman and comic books, Chris Nolan has done in his medium. The Dark Knight should satiate even the most demanding fan. More than that, it should satisfy even those unfamiliar with the source material. It's not just a damn fine comic book film; it's a great piece of cinema.
Nolan the Director
Nolan doesn't so much expand his vision of Gotham as much as he fills it in. He populates it with a colorful bunch of characters and he gives them room to breathe. You believe in the world of Batman, because the actors sell it. Everybody in this film turns in top-notch work. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are their usual sublime selves. Gary Oldman continues to contribute some of his best work as the doggedly honest cop, Lt. Gordon. Maggie Gyllenhaal brings the needed emotional heft to the role of Rachel Dawes. Many considered Katie Holmes who played Rachel in the first film to be one of that film's weak spots. I don't disagree, but you realize she was miscast; she was too young to play the role. Gyllenhaal is much more believable as the conflicted love interest in this film; she actually seems tough enough to be a resident of Gotham whereas Holmes seemed woefully out of place.
Then there's Aaron Eckhart, an actor whose work I've enjoyed since In the Company of Men. He brings just the right blend of humanity, idealism and cockiness to the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent. He's the films "white knight", but he doesn't come off as one-dimensional. Instead he's the parallel of Batman, except he crusades in the light of day. The film is explicit about such symbolism, but it's not as overbearing as the first film was about the idea of fear.
Though Bale spends a much greater portion of the film behind the mask than in the last, he still manages to show you how distinct Bruce Wayne is from Batman and not just through the usual aloof playboy routine. To be sure, that's in there (usually providing much needed levity in a few spots), but Bale develops layers to the character as he exposes how dependent Wayne has become on the Batman persona, how much it has enveloped him. But I didn't expect any less. Bale is probably my favorite actor right now. He's as eccentric as Depp when it comes to selecting roles (in the last few years he's played a Vietnam P.O.W., an unemployed veteran with a homicidal streak, and a warped magician; he's John Connor in the upcoming Terminator 4 for godsake!).
Oh yeah, Heath Ledger is in this film, too
Man, I don't even know where to begin with The Joker. The first time you see him, there's this sound that I thought was just background noise, but then after a couple more appearances, I realized it was his "theme music". And after that, my response almost became Pavlovian. When I heard it, my guard went up in an instant. You soon realize, this is a character that will literally do anything at anytime. He seems dangerous even when locked in a cell, denuded of weapons. He'll have you laughing for a moment and in the next breath gasping at his brutality. Even the way he taunts his victims becomes this sort of warped joke.
The obvious question: Is it better than Nicholson's? Yes. Why? Because it scared the crap out of me. And that's what the Joker was always supposed to do. If your only experience with the Joker is Cesar Romero on the affable but hokey 1960s television show or Jack Nicholson's iconic performance in the 1989 Burton film, then you're in for a shock/treat. This is the Joker in his purest form, the way Dennis O'Neil, Alan Moore and Frank Miller envisioned him. This is the Joker who murdered Commissioner Gordon's wife and left his daughter a paraplegic in the comic books. This is the Joker who killed the Jason Todd iteration of Robin. He is psychotic and never for a moment do you think he is anything less than real. He's a nightmare made material. The Joker is chaos in the flesh, a counterpoint to Batman's rigid authoritarianism. Yeah, I read a lot of Batman comics. And either Ledger did too or Nolan really drilled this role into him. It's every bit as iconic as Nicholson's; actually it's more so because you don't really "see" Ledger, only The Joker.
The film clocks in at 152 minutes. It never feels indulgent, but it does leave you worn at the end. Nolan takes his time in telling the story and I applaud him for it. In too many films in the genre, the dramatic scenes feel like placeholders for the action sequences. Don't get me wrong, the action sequences in The Dark Knight are nothing less than spectacular (which is saying something considering how many comic book inspired action films have flooded the market as of late). What makes them work even better though is that they work in service of the story and not vice versa. The most impressive aspect of the movie to me was the tension that Nolan creates in the film. There are scenes that literally had me on the edge of my seat. There is a pervasive sense of dread that permeates the entire movie. The film certainly lives up to its moniker. This is the movie that all subsequent comic book films will be measured against.
I don't know where the franchise goes from here. As long as it remains in Nolan's hands, I'm willing to follow.
