Blind Prophecy

It’s hard to describe my reaction to The Dark Knight without some major spoilers, but I’ll try.

Generally speaking, I liked it. There was no shortage of action or thrills. The woman sitting next to me in the theater screamed out loud a couple of times. Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart were awesome. Gary Oldman has turned Gordon into a complex and nuanced character, and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman enjoy taking turns stealing scenes away from Christian Bale.

And that’s really the problem, IMO. This is a movie about Batman, and Christian Bale is no untalented pretty face, but up against this cast of villains and supporting characters, he was lost. The narrative didn’t help, there was so much action and suspense, there was a lot less depth than the first film.

The portrayal of the Joker was masterful (Jack Nicholson who?). A dark, ugly, gritty joker for the new century, he’s no longer the goofy and lighthearted petty crook of the original tv show. He’s not even the maniacal mobster of the Tim Burton film. No, this Joker is both brilliant and completely psychotic. In the best Batman stories, the Joker is such a dangerous foe because he’s brilliant, five moves ahead of Batman and the police, and he’s also completely without limits or rules.

I was a bit let down by the finale of the movie, though. Trying not to spoil anything important, but the resolution of the Harvey Dent story felt like a violation of one of the movie’s central themes. I’d also have liked a little darker ending. Something about this film reminded me of The Empire Strikes Back and I think that could have played out a little more.

Yeah, I liked the movie, but not as a standalone. It needs the Bruce Wayne of Batman Begins and the inevitable sequel to make it feel like part of a complete character arc for the origin of Batman. And the next movie has to include Catwoman.

Filed under: movies by Jere Keys