The Dark Knight (Part 1 of 3)

The Dark Knight Part 1 of 3

Alfred Pennyworth: You crossed the line first, sir. You hammered them. And in their desperation they turned to a man they didn't fully understand. Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

That pretty much sums up this movie.

I was a big fan of Batman Begins. So, I had faith going into this movie that director Christopher Nolan wouldn’t turn the follow up into another self-indulgent film like Tim Burton did with Batman Returns. Instead of repeating the missteps of Burton and his ego, Nolan created a sequel that improves upon the stronger elements of the first film and goes further. Nolan takes us deeper into what happens when you take someone good and an idealist twist it upon itself.

The Dark Knight is a darker movie, but it doesn’t have the dark cynical tone of Tim Burton’s second film. Goyer and the Nolan brothers have written an amazing script that only changes the Batman mythology enough to fit into our current time. Nolan takes the theme of Batman being a symbol of hope and order and gives us another symbol. And that symbol is chaos in the form of the Joker.

I should just come out and say it. Yes, Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker is chilling and compelling at the same time. Believe the hype, this is Ledger’s best performance ever. (Forget Brokeback, actually I’m trying to.) Ledger’s every movement and mannerism fits within Nolan’s world. It’s a shame Heath Ledger died, because we would have seen some good things from him after this.

The Joker is no longer an acid accident victim, but a guy with scars on both sides of his face and he wears clown makeup instead. While some stupid comic book guys might have a problem with this change, I don’t. Plus, he makes him such a mean SOB that you don’t need a real origin story for this Joker. (The Joker mentions two unrelated stories as to how he got his face that way. Both contradict each other.)

This version of the Joker is twisted, but he has a bigger goal, which is to create chaos and watch as the city destroys itself out of fear. The Joker for the first time in the movies feels like a terrorist, which Harvey Dent mentions in the film.

However, don’t let the marketing trick you. This movie is about Harvey Dent and he’s the star of the film.

Remember, Jokers are wild.