Dark Knight

Synopsis: Joker kills people, lots of things are destroyed, there’s actually TWO villains in this movie.

Ninjas. Who could possibly dislike ninjas? These mythical killers from Eastern culture are ingrained in the skulls of most males as the apogee of awesome. Already at their peak physical and mental level, there is only one way to improve a ninja: give them cool toys. Stick said ninja in Gotham City, and you have Batman.

Writing this review a bit after the movie came out has given me a chance to see critic’s reactions. They make me wonder if they somehow get throwbacks from the studio. Dark Knight is a fantastic movie but it is not The Untouchables or The Godfather as many reviews seem to christen it. It is a ninja in a bat-suit. It’s Batman. Please never make it anything else. I see comic book movies because I like comic book movies, not because I am secretly hoping to see Al Capone in makeup and Eliot Ness dressed as some armored rodent (with wrist blades!).

Heath Ledger is indeed fantastic. I would argue he is one of the best batman villains so far (although it is rather unfair to compare Batman movies, Burton had a very different direction than Nolan). But again, he is what he is, a comic book villain. This isn’t some existential movie about how we “turn on our heroes” or even that heavy laden with morality issues (yes he does have to make some decisions). His joker is a psychopath with a death wish. He doesn’t have any deep motivations. He says he’s like a dog chasing cars: he wouldn’t know what to do with one if he caught it. I do think it would be fair to put Ledger up for a best supporting actor, and perhaps all the hype around Dark Knight will help its being taken seriously when such awards are presented.

Dark Knight is sleek. Its huge budget obviously helps. The pacing is very nice, you spend a lot of time on the edge of your seat but are allowed to relax at the right times and the humorous bits are quite funny. It did well to stay PG-13 as it allowed one to watch in somewhat “safety,” knowing none of the alluded grossness would actually be shown on screen. I would have appreciated more of the choreographed fight scenes from the previous movie: it seems this relied more on glass shattering and people flying around, making his fighting style feel more like a Tasmanian devil or the Hulk than a ninja. This is probably more from my love of old Kung Fu movies however.

So if you like action movies or Batman or Christian Bale or want to see Heath Ledger at his best, Dark Knight is a must see. But if you want Eliot Ness, seek him elsewhere.