With The Dark Knight, Lightning Strikes Twice

At the end of 2005's Batman Begins, Captain Gordon asks Batman, "What about escalation?" Relevant to the story in reference to Batman opening the door to vigilantes and the inevitable response of criminals to heighten their methods, the question is also relevant to the state of comic book movies. Batman Begins unquestioningly raised the bar for the genre and now in 2008, The Dark Knight demonstrates exactly what escalation means for the genre. Comic books are often gritty, dark and uncompromising and so too is The Dark Knight. Chris Nolan's sequel is thrilling and proves that lightning really can strike twice; the benchmark for the genre has once again been raised.

The Dark Knight is a film that touches on many different themes, specifically focused on personal morals and limitations, asking the question "what is justice?" Bruce Wayne's crusade to clean up Gotham has been joined and the DA's office lead by the recently elected Harvey Dent is putting large numbers of criminals behind bars. The mob is on the defensive and its beginning to look as though Gotham no longer needs a masked avenger. Dent is the new "white knight". But as is so often true, things are too good to be true.

At the end of Batman Begins, Gordon hints at the arrival of the Joker, Batman's traditional arch-nemesis. In The Dark Knight he arrives and his brand of chaos, violence and anarchy that are almost incomprehensible. When Bruce trained under Ra's Al Ghul, the rift appeared between them because unlike Ra's, Bruce refused to execute justice through killing. Ra's warned him that his enemies would not share his mercy and it would be his undoing. The Joker is that enemy - he operates without grand scheme, hesitation or remorse. He is chaos personified and he represents the ultimate test for Batman. The only way to stop him will be to kill him. The question is, will Batman do it?

Dent is Gotham's new public face of justice. While his methods are not nearly the same as Batman's, they both appear to be incorruptible men. The Joker is not content to only test Batman and quickly brings Dent into his diabolical game to prove a point that no one is incorruptible. The tragedy for Dent is that in his case that turns out to be true. After being maimed at the hands of the Joker, Dent, now physically embodying his police force nickname "Two-Face", embarks on a crusade of personal revenge, hunting down and killing those who the Joker convinces him put him in the position to take the fall.

The Joker is mad in every sense of the clinical definition. He is unlike any other criminal in that he doesn't share their motivations (money) or their methods (he is much more sinister and extreme). As he states at one point, "Its not about the money. It's about sending a message." Not only is Joker fighting the police, Dent and Batman, but he is also fighting the traditional criminal leadership of Gotham for control. He kills some of the leaders and grabs the reigns without any measure of compromise. That's not his style. He is chaos and anarchy and it is up the heroes of Gotham to figure out how to overcome it.

The story of Batman, at its core, has always been a dark story of good vs. evil and one man's tormented crusade to save his city and with this sequel to Batman Begins, director Christoper Nolan truly takes us to that dark place. Kudos to him because in doing so he has created a thrilling, visceral crime drama that doesn't pull any of the punches. Its completely immersing and Nolan tells the story in the way it ought to be told. Gone are the days of Burton's Batman replaced with a much darker and serious version. As for Jack Nicholson's Joker... there is a new definitive version of the Joker and it is Heath Ledger's.

Simply put, Ledger's Joker is one of the most twisted villains in film history. As a villain he is a conundrum because to know his motivation is to know insanity. He is nihilistic, thrives on chaos and there are seemingly no limits to the vileness and brutality of his methods. He isn't self-serving but only wishes to sow terror. And yet, there are scenes where he seems to demonstrate a sense of civility, like the eye of a hurricane.

Ledger's portrayal is extremely nuanced and his presence immense as a result. His shifty eyes, assortment of ticks along with his slumping posture and slight limp go hand in hand with his creepy voice to create a character not easily forgotten. He is creepy! Not to mention his face. His sloppy clown makeup and scarred cheeks manifest just how unhinged he is and reflect his constant state of disorder. I'm not going to engage in the whole Oscar-worthy discussion, but I will say that his performance was simply amazing and completely unforgettable. He steals the show and the critical acclaim he has received is all completely warranted.

Bale once again excels in the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. He is my favorite Batman and I especially like his demeanor as Bruce Wayne. He has a billionaire-playboy swagger in his performance that fits perfectly. Aaron Eckhart also had a good turn as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. He played the good guy Dent very well and an equally good tortured soul as Two-Face. Maggie Gyllenhaal was fine as Rachel Dawes and it helped that she looks somewhat like Katie Holmes to cover the fact that the actress changed. It could have been annoying and thankfully wasn't.

I think the under-the-radar performance still belongs to Gary Oldman as Gordon. The guy simply is Jim Gordon! I've gone on and on before about how I like Oldman for his range in roles and I honestly believe you could cast him in a woman's role and he could pull it off. The guy is immensely talented and a total chameleon when it comes to his roles.

The action in The Dark Knight was great! It was more visible this time around which I'm sure most people appreciate and is probably due to Nolan's improvement in that area as well as being intentional (Batman is phantom-like and getting only glimpses of him in Batman Begins worked as a device). Once again, the story was fantastic! Nolan didn't pull any punches and the scope of the action was grand and the impact hard hitting, the way it should be.

The Dark Knight is unquestioningly the best comic book adaptation to date. Along with Batman Begins and Iron Man, the comic book genre has a much higher benchmark to aim for now. As a film, The Dark Knight is one for the ages. It may be awhile before we have another comic adaptation as this level (or until Nolan makes another Batman film), but the fact that we've gotten to this level is heartening to me as a fan. Comics aren't just kid's stuff, they are very much adult and Nolan's vision of Batman demonstrates this in an entertaining and utterly thrilling way! 10/10

Wanted Is a Waste of Time

I have a pet peeve when it comes to films. I absolutely HATE when a film introduces elements that are completely incongruent and out of place based on the presented setting. It has a lot to due with the suspension of disbelief, which admittedly is very important when it comes to films, but its not that I cannot suspend disbelief. Rather it is essentially that there are bounds to the suspension of disbelief, and when a story is presented correctly, that suspension is warranted and I can have a great time watching. Other times it is not and when that happens, I shut off to a film.

Take for example The Matrix. Crazy stuff happens in that movie - normal humans leap from building to building, dodge bullets, etc. And it was all completely awesome! I didn't ask any questions. You know why? Because it was quickly established that they were in the matrix and within the confines of the matrix the "rules" (namely those of physics) could be bent and broken. Fine. Its well explained and it makes sense. Great movie!

The same is true for every superhero movie. Going in you understand that it is a superhero movie and normal rules do not apply (although I argue that there rules with superhero films too, just a different set of rules) and that crazy, spectacular, epic stuff is going to happen. Its justified. Superheroes aren't interesting if they don't do those sorts of things. (An exception to this rule would be Spiderman stopping a tram with his feet breaking through railroad ties and not getting ripped apart. He is Spiderman after all, not Superman. That was retarded.) The same is also true for Bond movies. They have a different set of limits because you understand that he is a super spy and the franchise has always carried its own aura of suspended disbelief.

Then there are films like Wanted. In the very first scene of the film, a man leaps out the windows of a tall building, flies across the street, pulls out his guns mid-jump and shoots three armed men on a rooftop, then safely lands in the building. Is he a superhero? No. Is this supposedly the real world? Yes. Does that make any fucking sense at all? No. We have a serious problem. And yes, I have the same issue with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. People literally fly through the air and and it makes no sense. Granted, we're given the setting of Asian mythology which gives some justification which I understand, but I still didn't like it.

Now back up a minute. Some people would point out that essentially the same type of stuff happens in Shoot Em Up (a film I own and enjoy immensely) and also point out that I have no problems with that movie. I would respond by saying that Shoot Em Up quickly establishes itself as an over-the-top dark comedy. Had it taken itself seriously, it would have been a problem for me.

Wanted takes itself very seriously, immediately establishing the existence of an ancient fraternity of assassins who, while possessing no supernatural abilities, can apparently do whatever the hell they want with a gun so long as they put in enough hours at the range. And aside from a guy leaping building, these folks can bend bullets around objects to hit obstructed targets or better yet, hit targets from obscene distances through dozens of obstacles including windows, moving trains, etc. And we are supposed to take this seriously. They are assassins and this is serious business- they are trying to maintain a balance between order and chaos in the world. The real world. The world you and I live in. You know, the world governed by a things called the laws of physics.

Okay, so we have this guy named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) who is a real loser, hates his job and suffers from panic attacks. It turns out that his estranged father was the worlds greatest assassin, and he has been killed. So the fraternity of assassins (aptly named The Fraternity) lead by a guy named Sloan (Morgan Freeman) come looking for him so that they can whisk him away from the boring life he has and train him to be an assassin like his father. Most importantly he is the only guy capable of killing his father's killer, so they say.

Fast forward. So Wesley is introduced to the "Frat" and begins his training under the tutelage of Fox (Angelina Jolie) who is supposed to be the ultra-sexy master assassin who throws glances that say "I'm super cool because I'm an assassin". Apparently she got paid big bucks to stand around looking smug throughout the movie. I'm sorry but Angelina Jolie is annoying to begin with and she really lame in this movie. Anyway, we go through the obligatory training stuff where the guy just isn't getting it until he pushed to his limit and suddenly everything is hunky dory. Oh yeah, and we are also given this whole explanation of the frat's mission and whatnot and this back story of how the "loom of fate" (the assassins were started from weavers?) that contains a secret binary language that spells out those persons who need to be killed. In short, it was not very intricate but apparently served to advance the plot.

Basically, the latter half of the film serves as one long, drawn out climax sequence involving bullets bouncing off bullets (a reference to sword-fighting maybe?), Wesley and Fox surviving an absolutely ridiculous train wreck and eventually Wesley discovering the truth about his father and bringing down the Fraternity. Oh and Fox shoots a bullet in a complete circle at the end.

Obviously I didn't like this film and for reasons I have already spelled out. Had this movie introduced some element justifying the bullet magic (like being superheroes or a la The Matrix), it might have worked. Had this movie not taken itself so seriously (like Shoot Em Up), it probably would have worked. Instead, it just shovels out the craziness because Hollywood isn't stupid. They know that the crowds will eat it up because its packed with action and it has Angelina Jolie standing around looking smug, and teenage boys can't take their eyes off her. It fills seats, but it does nothing to help foster the production of better quality movies.

So call me a hater. Call me jaded. Call me elitist if you must, but I'm calling Wanted garbage. 4/10