When the reboot of the Batman franchise happened three years ago with Batman Begins, the wisely stayed away from what are traditionally Batman's "A-List" villains. But the weird combo of Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow and Carmine Falcone worked well to get the ball rolling. Of course, you knew that a sequel was inevitable and that they'd be rolling out the "A-List" at that point. And what an amazing ride this one is.
The Dark Knight picks up pretty much where we left off. Gotham's still a city that's falling apart. Scarecrow's still on the loose and the mobsters are still running things -- sort of. You see Batman has provided a bit of hope and inspiration. Sure there are idiots now running around dressed as Batman trying to do what he does and doing it wrong, but the mob and the street criminals have gotten a bit more careful.
Into this scenario comes two new people -- Harvey Dent and the Joker. Dent (Aaron Eckhardt) is a force of good, Gotham's upright District Attorney is looking to Lieutenant Gordon and Batman for help in finally ridding the city of crime. The Joker (Heath Ledger) is nothing more than a force of chaos (as he puts it) that has decided that Gotham needs "a better class of criminal." He masterfully pits everyone against each other and by the time half of his plans have played out everyone has been compromised.
One would think that with a cast of characters as large as this one, people would get lost in the shuffle. But that is barely the case. Almost everyone has the right amount of screen time in this massive story that ultimately winds up being Harvey Dent's. Alfred, Lucius Fox and Rachel Dawes (now played better by Maggie Gyllenhall) all return from the previous film. Toss in a few corrupt cops under Gordon, the Mayor, a Wayne Enterprises employee who figures of Batman's secret, a news reporter and a bunch of new mobsters and the film is packed with interesting and well cast characters. Only Scarecrow gets the truly short end of the stick (making one wonder why he's even there).
The story plays out in a similar manner to what I believe is one of the greatest Batman comic book stories ever done, Batman: The Long Halloween, which was also about the changeover in Gotham's criminal element from mobsters to insane freaks and featured the good guy trio of Batman Gordon and Dent until Dent's downfall (an issue I'm skirting for anyone reading who doesn't know what happens to him because it is truely tragic).
The acting is all spot on. Christian Bale holds his own in a film that is so obviously not so much about Batman as it is about his city and these other two men who inhabit it. Aaron Eckhardt's performance as Harvey Dent is spot on perfect from the comics and all the talk of Ledger getting an Oscar for his Joker diminishes Eckhardt's work a bit as he too deserves one in my book. And the Oscar talk for Ledger isn't unfounded. Legder's performance is a weirdly, wonderful and psychotic one that blows any previous interpretation of the character out of the water. Taking their cues from older stories where the Joker just existed without a backstory and mixing it with the idea that either he doesn't know his or tells it wrong every time, the writers have given Ledger a clean slate with which he has created a villainous force to be reckoned with (and his untimely passing leaves everyone in a quandry as the Joker NEEDS to return, but how do you do that for a third film? Do you recast? With whom?).
The Dark Knight is easily the best Batman film made yet. It's probably also the best comic book movie made yet (and this in a summer of really good ones so far with Iron Man and Hellboy II: The Golden Army). This sequel does everything one is supposed to do, take the characters in a different direction while staying true to them and not repeating anything (and this so rarely happens its not even funny -- most sequels tend to be more of "lather, rinse, repeat" variety). The question is where do they go from here?
Meanwhile, just released on DVD as a tie-in is Batman: Gotham Knight. This is part of a new line of direct-to-DVD movies that Warner & DC Comics have been doing. And so far it is the least successful. Taking its cues from Batman Begins, this film is actually six short "stories" that explore Batman and his image in the world. Each is done by a different Japanese animator in a different style which is a nice twist, but each is pretty much undone by the writing. The best of the segments is the last one featuring a nice re-interpretation of the classic Batman/ DC villain Deadshot (maybe he can make an appearnce like this in the next film), but by the time you've reached this last segment you're already wasted an hour (even an appearance by Killer Croc and Scarecrow in the same segment doesn't work). The animation varies from very smooth to "what the heck am I watching" (which is mostly the first segment). Kevin Conroy who voiced Batman in the Animated Series returns to voice him again. Its another plus. Only recommended for die-hard Batman fans or anime fans.
I know I still need to get my Hellboy II: The Golden Army review up (it got away from me), so you should be seeing that in a day or two. Until then...
Be seeing you.
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