?The Dark Knight?
D: Christopher Nolan
S: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Maggie Gyllenhaal
MANILA, Philippines?In ?The Dark Knight,? Christopher Nolan?s stunningly provocative follow-up to 2005?s successful ?Batman Begins? franchise reboot, Bruce Wayne?s crime-busting alter ego (played by Christian Bale) navigates a world that reeks of sin and moral squalor?where the war between good and evil is represented by Gotham City?s new district attorney, the fearlessly idealistic Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), on one side and Batman?s arch-nemesis, The Joker (Heath Ledger), on the other.
With the help of Dent, Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman), Wayne Enterprises? tech-savvy Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and butler-confidant Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine), Batman seems to be winning his battle against the city?s criminal underworld. He sees the charismatic Dent as his way out of the violent vigilante life that keeps him from making a commitment to Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, who takes over from Katie Holmes)?his only hope for normalcy.
However, before Bruce can retire the Dark Knight?s cape and cowl for good, a mind-boggling reign of terror soon envelopes Gotham City, unleashed by The Joker, the brilliant homicidal maniac who could make even the toughest and meanest of criminals shake in their sinister boots!
Worse, some of Batman?s best partners perish in the wake of his slippery foe?s murderous rampage! As the body count piles up, Batman has to fight tooth and claw to prove to the people he has sworn to protect that, indeed, crime does not pay. But, with a loved one gone and an important ally tragically shoved into the dark side, the odds seem to work in The Joker?s favor!
Despite a protracted running time (the film clocks in at two hours and 32 minutes), Nolan delivers one of the year?s best films?an almost seamless fusion of edge-of-your-seat entertainment and masterful filmmaking.
The movie is a substantive examination of what makes a hero, and how?during the ?darkest hour of the night, just before the break of dawn??a good man is transformed into a venomous villain.
With his character deftly threshed out in ?Batman Begins,? Bale doesn?t do as much brooding here, but he does give his well-limned role?s duality a cerebral and subtextual edge. There are powerful performances all around?most notably, from Gyllenhaal and the empathetic Eckhart.
Gyllenhaal gives her two-dimensional character more meat and spunk, which the pretty but sorely miscast Holmes lacked in ?Batman Begins.?
But, it?s the magnificent Ledger who almost steals the show from Bale: The gifted actor?s dramatic achievement here is instructive, because his character isn?t even given an in-depth back story?The Joker just pops up from out of nowhere and, along the way, spills revelatory clues of abuse and grave misfortune from his bleak past.
To say the least, Ledger?s Joker is a scary creation far removed from the campy aesthetic of Jack Nicholson?s previous rendering of the character?a powerful performance worthy of an Oscar (something that, we still maintain, he should have won for his moving portrayal in 2005?s ?Brokeback Mountain?). Unfortunately, an Oscar win may be a long shot?after all, Peter Finch is still the only actor to have won a posthumous Oscar (for 1976?s ?Network?).
P.S.: ?The Dark Knight? may be Ledger?s last full-length performance, but his fans have something to look forward to in Terry Gilliam?s upcoming sci-fi drama, ?The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,? which the talented actor didn?t get to finish.
The film?s fantasy premise has allowed other performers to play Ledger?s character, whose appearance changes as he travels between imaginary worlds. To pay tribute to their fallen friend, three top celebrities have readily agreed to alternately play the role: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. Whoa!
