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