Issue #24: The Dark Knight Review

This is another rare week when nothing on my pull list was published, and so I didn't visit my local comic book shop Bad Apple Comics. I was one of those people who went to the 12:01 am showings of The Dark Knight. I took my daughter and one of her best friends. The movie itself wasn't the only thing I looked forward to seeing on the big screen. Comic book websites reported that the first Watchmen movie preview would be shown before The Dark Knight. Neither one disappointed me. Every scene shown in the preview I recognized from the Wathcmen trade paperback, and the characters were easily recognizable. Even the few snippets of dialogue seemed to be quotes from the graphic novel. If there is a midnight showing for Watchmen I'll be in line to see it then.

The Dark Knight  *  *  *  *  *

The movie was definitely dark. We see the many consequences of Batman's fight against crime and corruption. There is a personal cost to this battle as well. From the copycat Batmen who do more harm to themselves than they help, to the cost inflicted on Bruce Wayne's soul, Christian Bale perfectly shows the weight on his character's shoulders. There is a personal cost to those close to Bruce, from his childhood friend and former love Rachel Dawes to the new D. A. Harvey Dent, not to mention Jim Gordon, who may not be married when the next Batman movie opens.

Like when all the bugs scatter when you find a nest in your home, the corrupt officials and criminals scatter and make life chaos in Gotham. Gordon can't seem to find many honest cops on the police force and Harvey Dent has all he can handle to prosecute criminals in court.

Then the Joker shows up and shows Gotham City what chaos and anarchy really is. The late Heath Ledger is the definitive Joker. As much as I enjoyed the Jack Nicholson version, the Heath Ledger Joker is probably what the Joker would be if he actually existed. let's hope he stays on the comic book page or the movie screen. What makes the Joker the most frightening is that he is not motivated by revenge or greed. He just wants to create chaos and watch the city collapse on itself. He lives just to destroy.

The plot is very complex, and The Dark Knight succeeds where Spider Man 3 fails. TDK juggles the several plots and keeps all of them from falling to the floor. There is enough time and story to give depth to each plot and give all of the characters full development in the story. The closer to the climax of the movie, the more intertwined the main characters become.

Batman shows his dedication to freeing Gotham City from the grasp of corruption and crime by making impossible choices, no matter the risk to himself. The ending sets up the next Batman movie to be even darker for the Dark Knight than before.

I would even rate this movie even better than its predecessor Batman Begins which I felt previously was the best Batman movie. Now it's a close second. I can't wait until the DVD is released for the holidays.

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