Al does The Dark Knight

”Wanna know how I got these scars?”

The Scoop: 2008, PG-13. Directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Tagline: Why so serious?

Summary Capsule: Bruce is the dark knight, Harvey’s the white knight, and the Joker’s wild.

Al’s Rating: So, this movie came out that you may have heard of…

Al’s Review: Or, actually, if you read this website, maybe you didn’t. Some of you have no doubt noticed that, since July 2008, The Mutant Reviewers from Hell has been curiously lacking in the Batman department. Now, I have not consulted with the other Mutants in the office, but I feel I can say that it’s not for a lack of trying. After all, The Dark Knight was fantastic. The new characters are complex and layered. The returning characters are pushed in interesting directions. The plot is involved but rewards those who pay attention. All around, it is simply a masterful film and everybody (excluding a handful of misguided souls) knows it. So, really, the problem becomes, what else is there to say?

Right now, the database at mrqe.com lists 270 reviews of The Dark Knight. I will sum them up for you here: The Joker was awesome. Two-Face was creepy. Maggie Gyllenhaal was okay. Batman’s voice was stupid. They are the same things I was going to say and the same things you probably already know. But let’s talk about ‘em anyway.

1) The Joker was awesome. Seriously. Heath Ledger deserves every bit of praise that the talking heads have thrown his way. He is brilliant, terrifying, and absolutely insane. Make no mistake, Jack Nicholson played a truly great Joker. The difference is that Jack Nicholson would never blow up a hospital in a nurses’ outfit; he had too much style. There’s no style in this monster. There’s no self-control. There’s no forethought and no afterthought, or perhaps there is so much of all of it that it just seems that way. Nicholson played the Joker as the Clown Prince of Crime. Ledger plays the Joker as an id with a machine gun.

2) Two-Face was creepy. Traditionally, Two-Face’s disfigurement had been limited to a bumpy, discolored face and maybe one bulging eyeball. You might want to walk the other way rather than pass him on the street, but it didn’t really strike fear into your heart or anything. This Two-Face, however, is the stuff of nightmares. Blackened skin, bits of bone, muscles and tendons that are bare and oozing. Its repulsiveness is in its realism. It’s the kind of thing that screams ‘infection.’

On top of it all, the film made him make sense. I mean, I’ve always understood Two-Face’s motivation, but until this movie I had never realized that I didn’t buy it. I accepted it, but that’s really not the same thing. Aaron Eckhart made me believe in the allure of letting a coin flip solve your problems, and that creeps me out even more.

3) Maggie Gyllenhaal was okay. I was one of those crazy people who thought Katie Holmes did a pretty good job in Batman Begins. I was disappointed when she didn’t want to come back for the sequel, although Maggie is certainly a great choice to replace her. In the end, though, it turns out that the switch is pretty much a non-issue because Rachel Dawes doesn’t really have a lot to do in The Dark Knight except get captured and be thrown off of buildings. She’s important, sure, but it seems the concept of Rachel Dawes matters more than the woman playing her. That’s not to disparage Maggie’s performance, of course. There just isn’t enough of a role there to be worth mentioning.

4) Batman’s voice was stupid. Batman Begins didn’t feature a lot of talking by our hero while he was in-costume. He’s still reasonably quiet in The Dark Knight, but Batman definitely has a lot more to say this time around and that means we hear a more of his Gravelly Batman Voice. It makes sense that Bruce Wayne would have a Gravelly Batman Voice for when he was under the cowl, but a little goes a long way and The Dark Knight simply had too much. Of course, they could’ve taken my suggestion and just let Kevin Conroy dub the whole thing, but that’s another conversation altogether.

Obviously, there is plenty more that is worth talking about. The bat-gadgets. The sweeping cityscapes. The way the Joker manages to look even more disturbing without his makeup. It’s a conversation I could have for hours. But instead, I think there’s an easier way for me to sum up my feelings on The Dark Knight: Me too. “I loved the interrogation scene.” Me too. “I thought the score was brilliant.” Me too. “I’m really surprised Batman jumped off a building then fell several stories onto taxi cab and walked away.” Me too.

All the good stuff you’ve heard? Me too.

Most of the bad stuff you’ve heard? Me too.

And you know those chills you get when you think about a sequel? Me too.

PROTIP: Don't look behind you.

Didja Notice?

• William Fitchner in the William Fitchner role?
• The Scarecrow? Yay, a rogue’s gallery!
• “Here’s my card.” Heh.
• Lucius Fox mentions the new suit should do fine against cats? Maybe a little bit of foreshadowing?
• Senator Patrick Leahy at Bruce Wayne’s fundraising party?
• Anthony Michael Hall as the host of Gotham Tonight?
• The Jerry Maguire reference?
• The “I believe in Harvey Dent” sticker on Joker’s nurse outfit?
• That The Joker apparently rigged an entire hospital with explosives and no one noticed?
• That headache you get when you look at Bat-sonar for too long?

Is It Worth Staying Through The End Credits?

No.

Intermission! [source: IMDb]

• This is the first Batman film not to incorporate the word Batman in it’s title.

• While developing the style and mannerisms of the Joker, Heath Ledger relied on the look of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and Malcolm McDowell’s portrayal of Alex De Large in A Clockwork Orange.

• This is the last film role Heath Ledger completed prior to his death on January 22nd, 2008.

• Ledger won 32 posthumous Supporting Actor awards for his work on this movie.

• Much of the script sprung from the Batman stories “The Long Halloween,” “The Killing Joke,” “The Man Who Laughs,” as well as some early appearances of the Joker in the 1940s.

Groovy Quotes

He prefers all his photos be taken from his good side.

The Joker: Wanna know how I got these scars?

The Joker: I believe whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… stranger.

The Joker: How about a magic trick?

Harvey Dent: The famous Bruce Wayne. Rachel’s told me everything about you.
Bruce Wayne: I certainly hope not.

Harvey Dent: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

The Joker: Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can’t savor all the… little emotions. In… you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

The Joker: Do I really look like a guy with a plan?

If You Liked This Movie, Try These:

• Batman Begins
• Batman (1989)
• Heat