"Batman Begins" was a breath of fresh air for Batman fans - a film that at once, took very seriously the characters of the Batman world and also successfully created a believable and fascinating film around those characters. The movie was not without flaws (scripting - badly handled action - etc.) but overall, it was an astounding step forward for Batman fans.
"The Dark Knight" is another animal altogether. I am so thrilled to say that the film not only satisfied my Batman hunger - not only did it improve upon the first film... but frankly, this new film seems as if another director made it all together.
"The Dark Knight" is truly dark. There are some majorly horrifying moments with the Joker punishing his victims. There is also a lack of levity (something that "Begins" sometimes suffered for) - which I feel improves things. Each moment of the film is played as a very serious drama. That statement really doesn't explain what I mean... there is not a moment where you feel you are watching a film that is set outside of the world we know. The Joker is a TERRORIST! He is a demon - a killer who is out to prove that his beliefs are absolute and the world itself is damned.
As many have heard, Ledger's performance is something to behold. Like Daniel Day-Lewis' Plainview, here we have an actor who demands the audiences full attention and dominates everyone is sight. Honestly, I had high expectations for the performance and I was still surprised.
What took me as well was the character - the Joker is a fundamental questioning of the idea of order. He wants to demonstrate that trying to make the world better (saving it - how ever you want to put it), is merely an act of aggression on a violent and desperately selfish being that will turn on you for the slightest advantage. He does not care about money... power... or anything... he just wants to pull out the legs of your chair and watch you swing.
That creeped me out.
Of course, being the big Batman fan I am, I cannot completely heap praise on the film. Two-Face gets a limited amount of time and thusly the dramatic arc of Harvey Dent is somewhat stunted. But again, the film surprised me; Harvey Dent may get more screen time than Bruce Wayne (hell, I think Gordon gets more screen time than Wayne!!!). Eckhart does an amazing job here, leading us into a character who should have been a simple flat device for the film... yet comes off very strong... Dent's ideals are the world we want... I completely was energized to see Bruce realize that he could relieve his own suffering by allowing Dent to become the face of justice. This gave power to Dent's role, thus making his fall all the more tragic.
But really - I wish Dent/Two-Face would have culminated in a 3rd film. There was far more ground to be covered with the character and it was sad to see them close it up (granted, it may be returned to in the 3rd but not in the way it deserves).
In the end, this film is brilliant. I applaud Warner Bros - the Nolans - the cast - everyone involved with production... and especially the marketing crew. They kept Two-Face out of the ads (it is gruesome!) and all of the great Joker stuff is in the film, not in the ads (wait to you hear the speech before he delievers "WHY SO SERIOUS?" - it will send chills up your spine).
I am really excited to see this again - and in IMAX!
THE DARK KNIGHT: A-
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