The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is an epic movie. It is intense, all-encompassing, long, action-packed, and emotionally drenching. It is honestly, without a doubt the greatest comic book adaptation to date. The only problem it has is that, at a 2:30 runtime, there's still too much to fit in.

The film aims to work on three levels, each with its own character.

The first is with the Batman himself. He has his problems. Bruce Wayne is conflicted, fatigued, and overwhelmed, yet he continues pursuing the Batman of Gotham City out of obligation. He would almost (almost is a key word) rather give up the superhero life and spend his days quietly with Rachel Dawes. But Alfred knows him just as well as the audience does -- and sees what the audience sees. The Batman must be here to stay, no matter how hard the times become, and how hard the darkness will try to prevail.

Beyond the Batman we have Harvey Dent. Harvey Dent is, as many critics have pointed out, the curve of the story. He starts as a D.A. who focuses on stopping crime lords. He rises in political power, and once he is the citizen of Gotham's ideals, he suffers an accident that turns him to Two-Face. While the make-up is still a bit retro-cheesy, it works. We believe in Harvey Dent.

All of this is completely shut out by The Joker.

Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is -- without a doubt -- the best performance of the year. This is not nostalgia, or repayment for Brokeback Mountain, but a genuine praise. Forget Jack Nicholson. Honestly, no one loves Jack Nicholson more than me. But Heath Ledger (along with the Nolan's screen writing) takes The Jokes to unanticipated levels. He has no morals. No empathy. No rules, no ideals, no plans. He is the embodiment of Chaos, and he knows it. Yet everything he does seems planned to the T. Without Heath Ledger there would be no movie, and with him, this movie is his show to run.

I would be lying if I said the movie was not about The Joker. Sure, countless people describe this film about Harvey Dent's rise and fall, but please, name me one scene where Harvey Dent seems stronger, or even equal in power, than The Joker.

The film is filled with great scenes -- even the opening bank robbery is one to make 'Heat' jealous. Yet there is one -- perhaps one and a half -- fundamental flaws to the movie: We do not care about Batman, or Rachel Dawes.

Rachel Dawes, well, she was replaced by a better actress. I have nothing against Maggie Gyllenhaal. But her character seemed in excess, and all her scenes on the screen were filler at best.

But also, more importantly, what was up with Batman?

We know his cause. We know his means. We know his sacrifice (we get all of this in Batman Begins -- a great, but not quite equal film). What do we get from Batman this time around that makes him different from before? A few new gadgets? His girlfriend interested in the new, hip D.A.? So what? And I mean, his conflict was there. It was. But it was not fresh, and I found myself caring a lot more about the villains than the protagonist of the movie -- which I don't think should happen.

There is a scene in the film that shows the true power of The Joker. He is caught. The Joker is in a solitary room, unarmed, alone with a furious Batman. They are in a police station. Batman has his strength, his gadgets, the police, and free reign, yet still The Joker has the other hand. The Joker has no attachments to reality, no care for his own well-being. The only thing he has is information that Batman needs, but no matter how much beatings The Joker takes, Batman cannot force it out of him. Batman has to play the game.

This scene goes hand-in-hand with a scene just before it on the streets of Gotham (very minor spoiler here). The Joker stands in the street with his gun, facing Batman, who is on his motorcycle. Batman is charging The Joker, full speed, and instead of running like all other criminals, The Joker screams, "HIT ME!" But Batman cannot. He is bound by rules. Instead he spins out of controls and falls from his bike. The Joker, with no rules or sympathy or fear, controls all of Gotham City.

As I said, this is the best 'comic book movie' to date. It is not a perfect movie, but The Dark Knight is certainly one of the best movies of the year. Most everyone has probably seen it already, but if not... go!

Rating: 9.5/10