Note: This is not merely a review, but an in depth look at the film. If you have not seen it, do not read, as there is discussion about the ending. In other words: SPOILER ALERT.
If Batman Begins changed the way comic book movies are made, then The Dark Knight perfected it. The movie works not only as a comic book movie, but also as a sequel, a character study, a crime movie, and, in some ways, a horror film. Think about when the Joker tells the story of how he got his scars the first time. It's easily one of the more terrifying scenes of the year, and a great introduction to how mad this character is and will be.
Although this is the same Batman from Begins, it is, in a way, a different version of the same character. In Batman Begins, Batman took down his enemies using fear as his main tactic. In The Dark Knight, he relies more on his detective skills and brute force. Think about when he tracks down the Joker's hideout before his assassination attempt on the mayor. He uses a shattered bullet to recreate the fingerprint, and matches that up to apartments around the route the parade will be taking. On the flip side of that, consider when he travels to Hong Kong to bring Lau back to Gotham. Instead of sneaking into the building in the hopes of getting Lau out without creating much of a hassle, he simply bursts in through the window, takes down Lau's thugs, and exits via sky hook. Theatricality, it seems, hasn't lost its place with Batman.
In each of the two movies, Nolan used a different color theme throughout. In Begins, a dark tan dominated a lot of the scenes; here in The Dark Knight, blue is a recurring color. Blue has always been regarded as a soothing, calming color. It works as a great dichotomy to the chaos that is prevalent throughout the movie, and, I think, one of the more interesting aspects of the movie. Think about any of the scenes with the Joker, but in particular, the interrogation scene. There's not a lot of blue in the cinematography, but there's enough that it's noticeable. Notice how this is Batman's "weakest" moment. I say that in quotations because he exhibits a great amount of strength as he pummels the Joker. It's his weakest moment in the two films on a character level, because Batman is supposed to be mentally and physically stronger than his opponents. It doesn't do a whole lot to contradict what Joker said earlier in the scene about Batman being no different than the criminals he vows to vanquish.
And what of the Joker? He is a unique character not just in Batman lore, but in comic books and movies in general. I think, even if Ledger didn't suffer from his untimely death, that his Joker would still go down as one of the better movie villains of all time. Nolan has prided himself on making his Batman universe as realistic as possible; so we don't get the "normal" Joker origin of him falling into a pool of chemicals only to climb out of it with skin that is now white and a permanent smile. Instead, his white skin is face paint, and the scars appear as if they're self-inflicted. His clothing, as Gordon puts it, "appears custom". There's no DNA matches for him. It's as if he came from nowhere. There is no origin to his tale; he is an "absolute", a man without any means to be alive except to create chaos. He's not a criminal you can try to understand, but only have to realize that he exists, and he has to be stopped. I think the mental toll that the Joker weighs on Batman will have major repercussions in the sequel.
Gary Oldman again shines as Jim Gordon. He's able to continue the success he had with the character in Batman Begins and make Gordon more of a deeper character here. Of course his greatest moment comes at the film's conclusion, when he's faced with the real possibility that Two-Face is going to murder his son. The raw emotion Gordon shows in the scene could probably be attributed to Oldman's own thoughts of his family, and how he would feel if it were one of his own children threatened. He still clings to the hope that Gotham can be saved, and although he clashes with Dent, believes, like Batman, that Dent can be the symbol of hope the city needs to turn itself around.
This of course brings us to Harvey Dent/Two-Face, my personal favorite villain of Batman's universe. The tragedy of Harvey Dent and his fall to Two-Face makes him by far the most intriguing villain of Batman's rouge gallery, I think. It is an interesting parallel to the city of Gotham, once a thriving and populated city, now run by criminals and the mob. His story arch is the most fascinating part of The Dark Knight. It's Shakespearean in a way. Although comic book fans could see his transformation was imminent, it is still shocking when it does occur. Eckhart does a wonderful job of balancing Dent's charm and demeanor while also hinting at this beast he has lingering underneath the surface. The movie does a great job towards its conclusion of tackling Dent's split personalities, showing the man he used to be, and the monster he's now become. There was never a doubt in my mind that Two-Face had indeed perished at the film's conclusion; to be honest, I never understood why people doubted it. The film makes it fairly obvious that he is dead, showing us the memorial service held for him. What he meant for the city, and what the truth about his death would mean to the citizens of Gotham, is definitely an aspect that I think will be explored further in The Dark Knight Rises.
The movie is once again an interesting social commentary as well. Whereas Batman Begins questioned societies fear, The Dark Knight can be seen as a commentary on the privacy of citizens. Batman uses the cell phones of Gotham's population as the hub for a sonar device to pinpoint the Joker's location towards the end of the movie. Lucius Fox calls the practice, "beautiful, unethical, dangerous". He questions what exactly the cost is to the common citizen if Batman continues down a path such as this to find and stop a criminal. It can be seen as a comment on President Bush's Patriot Act, questioning if the ends justify the means. Although I think this idea is a bit of a stretch, it is still an interesting idea to bring up ten, fifteen years down the road. I also couldn't help but see a little bit of 9/11 in some of the imagery in the film, particularly when Joker blows up Gotham General Hospital, and when Rachel is murdered. As Batman stands on the rubble and discovers Dent's coin, the debris is almost strikingly similar to that of the twin towers.
Maggie Gyllenhaal is such a wonderful addition as Rachel that I almost, kind of sort of, wish they could have somehow CGI'd her into Batman Begins. Here, Rachel has life and zest. She's got spunk and, "a little fight in [her]" as Joker puts it. There is great chemistry between her and Eckhart and Bale, and the scenes with the three of them really showcase it. The love triangle subplot could have brought the film down on an excitment level, but instead are great quiet moments between the chaos.
Where fear was the dominanting theme in Begins, chaos is of course at the heart of The Dark Knight. It is all Joker wishes to bring to Gotham, and in many instances he succeeds. His "social experiment" at the film's end is his magnum opus. He thinks that by showing Gotham they can be as dark as he is, then the city will never recover. However, the ferries don't detonate each other, proving that not everyone has a madman hidden inside of them. The scenes where we see citizens trying to flee Gotham, and the massive traffic covering the city are powerful shots, and are a little chilling to think that one man can do this to a city. Even the way he pushes Batman is intriguing. He wants Batman to kill him so that he can prove to everyone that Batman is no different than anyone else. Batman's rule of no killing is hinted at a lot in the movie, and I think it's something to look for in Rises. Will Joker have pushed Batman so far that he's left with no other choice but to kill Bane?
I do, however, still question Nolan's lack of a credible link to his first Batman flick. While The Dark Knight is a brilliant film, and continues to set the standard for comic book movies, there really isn't anything here that distinguishies it as being the sequel to Batman Begins. Yes, it does boast (mostly) the same cast from the first film, and Scarecrow does make a nice cameo early on, but other than that there's really no mention of the first movie at all. I think what would have made the movie even better was to see the repurcussions of the train disaster from the end of Begins at the beginning of The Dark Knight. I understand the movie takes place six months after the events of the first, but we don't even see the train system in the background of any shots. I think it would have been a good touch to see crews still working to clean up the mess made by Al Ghul and Batman at the end of the first movie. But, it's hardly something that makes the movie less enjoyable on any level.
The movie ends unlike any other comic book movie I can remember. The Joker wins, essentially. Although his initial plan was to expose Harvey Dent as a criminal, he still succeeded in that Batman took the fall for Dent's crimes. Batman is now the outcast and enemy to the city he once swore to protect. In Gotham's eyes, he is no different than the likes of Scarecrow and Joker. But, he believes this is what must be done in order for there to still be hope for Gotham. Dent needs to still be a symbol of good for Gotham, and exposing the truth about him could be disastrous for the city. Batman proved to Joker that the people of Gotham are still good, but Joker proved that they are still corruptable with the fall of Dent.
Think about Bruce Wayne's psyche at this point in his life. He has lost both of his parents, his best friend/love of his life, and couldn't help save the one man he thought would be able to help turn Gotham back into a thriving city. The movie ends with him on the run; not just from the cops, but also from his demons. He was never the hero Gotham deserved, but the one they always needed, and he's lost that trust now in the city and in himself. It's such a powerful ending to a movie, and such a fascinating way to bridge the gap into The Dark Knight Rises.
Overall, The Dark Knight is, in my opinion, the greatest comic book movie ever made. The strong performances from the cast and the even stronger storyline make it one of the greatest sequels ever; right up there with the likes of The Empire Strikes Back and The Godfather: Part II. It is the standard that all comic book movies will be measured by for the next several years. The untimely death of Heath Ledger and the parallels to real world issues only add to the lore the movie has and will continue to have for years to come. It's a difficult film to follow, but I have the hope that Christopher Nolan and company will do this film justice in the their final Batman film.
A
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