Some have pointed to the death of Heath Ledger and the fact that this is his final, complete role as a big factor in the Dark Knight's immediate success. While that is certainly a factor in compelling moviegoers to the theaters, I believe it's overplayed as a factor in the overall quality of the film. Yes, Ledger does an amazing job as Batman's greatest foe, playing him as an uncontrollable schizophrenic force of nature - think an amalgamation of Al-Qaeda and Hurricane Katrina, unpredictable, untamable and unstoppable - and it will go down as his final masterpiece. I will admit there is very dark curiosity but the true strength in this film goes beyond any one performance or great performances (and the film has numerous strong turns).
The true strength of The Dark Knight, in my opinion, is the courage of director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan (and co-writer Jonathan Nolan) to treat the Batman mythos once again as adult content, not throwaway cartoon fodder. While Marvel Comics have been successful translating Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk to the screen this summer by creating a shared universe that is equally smart and vibrant, you always felt like you were looking in on this comic book world. You know the good guys are going to win in the end and no one is going to die on the hero's watch. You know there's going to be a happy ending when the film finishes.
The Dark Knight's Gotham City, in comparison, is closer to the real world. It's one step removed from gritty crime dramas like The Departed or Heat with nods to The Untouchables. Nolan has the balls to allow there to be casualties of war in Gotham's battle to bring the Joker to justice. There is a sense of danger throughout the entire film as some supporting characters are killed to get across that the threat is very, very real. In fact after one death the Dark Knight explodes onto an entirely new level unseen by any comic book adaptation. It's as if two films are playing back to back in one marathon two and a half hour viewing.
The Dark Knight is not about a guy dressing as a bat to bring criminals to justice. It's about the actions and repercussions of what happens when one tries to make a stand for what they believe to be right and then dealing with the after-effects of those actions. We all know the pain of Bruce Wayne wanting to avenge the murder of his parents, it's the driving force behind Wayne becoming Batman. This film follows Wayne as he battles different demons - the guilt of taking the law into his own hands and the ripple effects that comes with it - the escalating actions of The Joker, his beloved Gotham City blown half to bits, , and even Batman impersonators he's inspired paying for their Good Samaritan deeds with their lives.
The film isn't afraid to have Wayne ask, "What have I done?" and doubt the life choices he's made because of how they are affecting others. It's OK for Batman to live with the scars tattooing his back but when they begin to spread to the lives of other good people, it's enough to bring chills even to a man who's trying to use fear as his primary weapon against evil. Like every decision in life, there is bad that comes with the good. For the first time on film, the effects of Batman's vigilantism are explored in a mature, realistic way and it adds refreshing depth to the characters.
A lot has and will be written about Ledger as the Joker. However, Christian Bale has taken Bruce Wayne and made him a three-dimensional fleshed out person with strengths and weaknesses unlike any previous take on the character in the film and TV medium. He is driven by his love of his city and wanting to restore it to the glory it once had under his father's watch and is willing to sacrifice his own well being and status as the guardian angel of Gotham to make that reality closer to happening. Bale plays Wayne as half-martyr/half-obsessed over the ends to his means. When Ledger rants on about how close he and Batman truly are during the climax of the film, you realize that for the first and only time in the entire film, Joker is telling the stone-cold truth. Wayne is one step away from losing himself inside his creation, no matter why Batman was created to begin and Joker is the mirror that keeps Wayne from losing himself in his creation. Wh ile all the Academy Award talk is focused on Ledger posthumously, Bale's performance is as strong.
Comic book fans have been ranting and raving about the artistic merits of their chosen medium and how the films shouldn't be dismissed as fanboy popcorn fantasies. The Dark Knight provides the exclamation point for how impressive comic book adaptations can be on film.
Earlier that summer, Marvel Comics may have perfected the idea of using their characters in a shared universe while building to the dream team "Avengers" film for 2012 and brought the concept of comic book films into a higher level, one of the shared universe all comic readers are familiar with and love. Dark Knight, however, raises the bar for what a comic book movie can and should be on an emotional level, not with awesome fight scenes and phenomenal effects (although this film has both in spades), but by focusing on the core of its characters and having the courage to put them into situations that forces them to fear, to breath, to mourn and to overcome, it forces them to be real.
Sure, there are awe-inspiring moments that only come in fantasy films, but the emotional journey of these characters are what drives the Dark Knight. That's what good filmmaking is all about. In this day of Hollywood force-feeding its audiences endless remakes overgorged on CGI technology, it's easy to point out where moviemaking has lost its creative soul. How ironic that one of the most overlooked literary mediums of all time, the comic book, provides an outlet for the return of a legitimate, heart-felt dramatic motion picture.
One can only hope that the excellence of this film is enough to kickstart the long-stalled feature films based on DC Comics' wonderful collection of characters. While Marvel scores time and time again, DC (owned by Warner Bros. no less) never, ever seem get their projects out of the "starting gate". Let's hope this is the moment all that changes and let's hope all future projects are treated with equal amounts passion and intelligence.
If so, let's all they will contain the exact elements that were the true strength of "The Dark Knight" and that an entirely new audience will be introduced to even more truly wonderful characters and stories.
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