Joker's Wild: The Clown Prince of Crime
Takes The Dark Knight for a Ride
After the high-profile reboot of the Batman franchise in 2005, fans have waited breathlessly to see what director Christopher Nolan would do next. Now that Batman's universe and tone are set, Nolan shines the proverbial bat signal on Gotham. In The Dark Knight, he gives us a story of organized crime and the fight to keep a city from spiraling into darkness.
Written by: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan &
David S. Goyer, based on characters by Bob Kane
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman
Rated
(for
intense sequences of violence and some menace)Running time: 152 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 9 out of 10.
Picking up from the end of Batman Begins, the sequel shows the consequences of Batman's (Christian Bale) fight for Gotham. While he inspires some less-than-heroic people to imitate his vigilantism, he also helps spawn a new fight against organized crime by the police department and the district attorney's office.
As Bruce Wayne ponders the future of the Batman, Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) carries on the fight for the streets of Gotham with help from District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Dent is also the new man in the life of Rachel Dawes (played this time around by Maggie Gyllenhaal), Bruce Wayne's former love.
With organized crime on the run, a new player known as the Joker (Heath Ledger) emerges from the power vacuum left behind. He proposes to the few mobsters still around that he can bring Gotham to its knees by killing Batman.
This film belongs to Ledger. His portrayal of the Joker dominates every scene. His acting is elegant, manic, brutal and frightening. I don't think I've ever scene my wife so terrified by a character in a film – and we are both longtime horror fans. The Joker is quite simply an unknown quantity capable of doing something horrible at any moment. The unpredictability of the character makes every scene a life-threatening situation.
In many ways, Dent's story is the opposite. While the Joker has risen to give Gotham a new type of criminal to stand against Batman, Dent has appeared because good men and women need someone to look up to, someone they believe will fight for justice. If Batman has inadvertently inspired the Joker, his crusade also has helped give life to ideals held by Dent.
As is often the case with comic book movies, the sequel has a small flaw. After a strong origin story, The Dark Knight strays from the title character in an effort to flesh out the supporting cast. More attention is given to the Joker and Harvey Dent than to Batman.
When Batman is on the screen, he's a whirlwind of force. The action sequences are amazing and it's a lot of fun. But we don't see the Detective much in this film. He spends his time reacting to the Joker instead of anticipating the next move. When Batman does outthink the Joker, however, it appears that he's still one step behind.
While Christian Bale makes an excellent Bruce Wayne, his gruff Batman voice is entirely too distracting. I don't remember this problem from Batman Begins. I would have much preferred Bale take his voice down an octave rather than trying to sound like Sylvester Stallone choking on gravel.
Visually, The Dark Knight is a flawless film. Nolan avoids focusing
on the blood and gore, choosing instead to concentrate on the implied consequences
of the Joker's brutal acts. This quick editing no doubt helped this frightening
film achieve a PG-13 rating. More importantly, it allows the audience
to imagine the worst, which is far and away more terrifying than anything that
could actually be shown on the screen.
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