Batman Begins saw Christian Bale successfully pick up the pointy eared mask and lose the circus act of the previous overly comic films. The freak show is an essential part of the Batman franchise but frankly rubber nipples have no place in modern cinema.
The Dark Knight returns to grim squalor of Gotham city and immediately introduces the late Heath Ledger as the psychopathic Joker. Ledger’s Joker kills with an unhinged whimsy but isn’t quite the serial killer come clown he could be. Ultimately, the film is labelled as 12a and a truly sinister Joker isn’t going to appear without barring the target audience from the doors and unleashing a deranged killer.
Ledger is good, but he’s doesn’t take the Joker far beyond the same character Jack Nicholson played in Tim Burton’s Batman way back in 1989. Really the Dark Knight’s take on the Joker is the same but with better set-pieces and without the Prince boombox. Ledger’s tragic death means his performance is understandably over-hyped but I’d be surprised if he wins a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor.
The Dark Knight just about gets away with the jaunty yet sinister Joker but it suffers with a little confusion. Firstly, the Joker is able to recruit a band-wagon of villains not with promises of money but presumably with his magnetic persona. Occasionally the Joker shows a glimpse of this drawing motivational prowess but for the most part he’s blowing stuff up. Which is cool, but a little more character development next time please.
Secondly, Batman himself also suffers from this tendency to withdraw from violence. Always playing by the rules makes our hero noble, but not quite the Dark Knight the title suggests. While the suave, womanising and hideously rich Bruce Wayne character is a great decoy somehow Batman isn’t himself either. With Bourne and even Bond now taking the gritty route, Batman lacks a sense of ruthless realism.
Thirdly, the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal assumes the role of Batman’s love interest Rachel Dawes. Previously Katie Holmes played this character yet the sudden change confuses the continuity. Whilst it’s always going to be difficult I was left baffled by who Maggie Gyllenhaal was supposed to be for about 15mins (okay maybe 30mins…). With Dawes courting the new district attourney Harvey Dent (see what I did there?); the love triangle between Batman, Dawes and Harvey Dent has one slightly fuzzy edge.
On the whole the Dark Knight is enjoyable and although it lags slightly in the middle the set pieces are enough to take you through the two hours and thirty minute firework display. The characters lack a certain depth but are all played well. The Dark Knight stands head and shoulders above most action films and does so under the shackles of it’s 12A age classification, although a 15 would be a more fitting at times.
One thumb up.
