By now, you've probably seen Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight." In fact, you've probably seen it in IMAX. But being the massive blockbuster that it was, no back-to-school edition of The Daily Collegian would be complete without a few musings on the strengths and weaknesses of the summer's breakout film.
It's been a long time coming, but Christopher Nolan's much-hyped sequel finally gives audiences the real "Batman" story they've been craving. Fans forced to soldier through the goth overload of the Burton era, and then the camp of the Joel Schumacher years, no doubt cracked a smile upon the release of Nolan's 2005 original, "Batman Begins".
As franchise reboots go, "Batman Begins" starts strong, pulling from graphic novels and the original comics to form much of the film's storyline.
At times, though, the treatment is a little grim. You may find yourself wondering, why so serious, Christopher Nolan? While "Batman Begins" takes no pause to laugh at itself, "The Dark Knight" is all laughter. Crazy, psycho laughter, that is.
"The Dark Knight" pits Batman against arch-nemesis the Joker. Since his 1940 inception at the hands of Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the Joker's been the de facto alpha villain of the Batman mythology. So it makes sense that Nolan would set him loose here, as Bruce Wayne/Batman takes his struggles to new extremes.
"Knight" is very much a tale of extremes - of morality, sanity and good. On the flip side of the coin, there is madness, immorality and pure evil. At all times, there are questions and consequences.
For Bruce Wayne, questions override consequences. Can he sustain his dual identities much longer? Unlike Clark Kent or Peter Parker, Wayne's superhero role is always optional. He has to put on the mask in order to become his alter ego, the mask doesn't wear him. Or does it?
Meanwhile, even the public wonders. Is Batman a hero or is he just some freak running around in a bat costume?
Christian Bale scores again as the angst-filled Caped Crusader. As the rich and aimless piece of the Batman puzzle, he plays Bruce Wayne with all the wastrel entitlement first glimpsed in "Batman Begins." Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman round out the good guys, charged with playing science wiz Lucius Fox (Freeman) and butler Alfred Pennyworth (Caine).
When "Begins" wrapped, Gotham seemed on the verge of change. But crime, as it turns out, won't let up so easily in the city, Batman or no.
In "Knight" Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts) has taken over for Carmine Falcone as head of the Gotham underworld. Even with new management, the underworld's got problems. With the help of Batman, Lt. Jim Gordon (a stellar Gary Oldman) has been cutting into their cash supply. Facing extinction, Gotham City's fading mafiosos enlist the Joker (Heath Ledger) to go to work on their little dilemma.
As the Joker, Ledger's performance is one already steeped in legend. Ledger went into seclusion for a month while he prepared for the role, using the time to perfect the Joker's voice and gait. This has led to much speculation. Could Ledger's total submergence in a role so unsettling have been the cause for the prescription drug use which eventually took his life?
That last part we may never know. What is clear since viewing "Knight" is that Ledger's performance is every bit deserving of legend. He's Johnny Rotten meets Malcolm McDowell in "A Clockwork Orange," and far, far removed from the campy clown popularized by Jack Nicholson and Cesar Romero. This is the Joker as he was always meant to be portrayed.
The Joker takes the job but he's got his own agenda. For a man without a plan, he acts out with alarming decisiveness. He doesn't target "the Bat-Man" directly - that would be too obvious - instead, he targets Gotham's public officials.
The Joker's deeds carry sinister consequences. With his serpentine tongue and festering face paint, he strikes a grisly image for Gothamites and for us. His cackling hyena laugh emanates throughout the theater as he wreaks havoc across the screen. No Gotham official seems beyond his reach, but the Joker especially has it out for District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
As the white knight of Gotham, Dent has taken up the public face of crime-fighting while Batman skulks in the shadows. Bad enough he's already got the girl (Maggie Gyllenhaal) now Dent seems to want glory too. Wouldn't it be terrific to drive him insane? Taking a page from Alan Moore's "The Killing Joke" (except in Moore's original, the object is Jim Gordon), the Joker sets out to show that it doesn't take much to turn even the sanest person stark raving mad.
For all its grandeur, "The Dark Knight" has some untapped resources. Maggie Gyllenhaal brings personality to the thankless role of love interest/plot device Rachel Dawes. For an actress with her range, it's disappointing to see Gyllenhaal confined to a character so thinly drawn. If only she'd been able funnel some of "Secretary" into Rachel, it'd be easy to understand where both Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent see the appeal.
For action sequences, Nolan shot several in the IMAX format. This is put to great use, especially in the opening heist. With Nolan's creative capers, it's a wonder the director hasn't stuck strictly to crime-dramas. His direction, however, can become disorienting during more involved action scenes.
In previous installments, Gotham City was a gothic landscape, desolate to all but the villains who ruled the night. In Nolan's franchise, the dark aesthetic has been swapped for the Chicago skyline. This lends to a feeling of realism, especially during bank heists and mob gatherings.
The Harvey/Two-Face twist, which any "Batman" fan saw coming from a mile away, works but isn't necessary. By the time Eckhart makes his iconic transformation, the audience is too immersed in the Joker's chaos to care. Even though it feels unnecessary, the twist is oddly seminal. While exposing the full scope of the Joker's dementia, it also shows how far Wayne is willing to go to protect what he has begun.
For those who haven't done so, the IMAX experience is the one to wait in line for. Since its July release, "The Dark Knight" has grossed well over $400 million. The profits have inspired other studios to postpone upcoming releases (like "Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince") until next summer, where larger profits are expected to be earned.
But "The Dark Knight" isn't just a cash bat. The film is a phenomenon all its own. By venturing closer to the noir beginnings of the Batman mythology, "The Dark Knight" creates a new kind of superhero film - one that's dark, gritty, disturbing.
It should make for an exciting sequel.
Shayna Murphy can be reached at skmurphy@student.umass.edu.
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