"The abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair."
- J.B. Lightfoot
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The movie title should have referred to the Joker because that's what it's about.
To better understand what I'm about to say you should know that I'm a Batman fan. And I'm most likely a bigger Batman fan than you are. (If your first response to that is "No you're not. I am!" I'll concede to you. But then that would make you and I bigger Batman fans than most readers of this post. I won't bore you with my geeky credentials, just trust me.)
This is the Batman movie that mature (or should I say adult?) Batman fans have been waiting for. I thought it was "Batman Begins" which is awesome, but nope. The Dark Knight is it. "Finally", we grown-up Batman fans are thinking, "the rest of the world will understand why we like Batman so much."
This the Batman the world has been deprived of for so long by all the other attempts. Batman is not a superhero, so much as he's the anti-anti-hero. Batman, as we fanboys know him, is a dark, conflicted character that escorts us into a journey into human nature that is so scary that we're glad to have him as a guide, even though we know he'd never let any of us actually be friends with him.
I kept asking myself if I liked the movie throughout the movie. I realized when it was over that I should have been asking myself, "why so serious?", which is the promotional tagline of the film, and is spoken by The Joker. I was so serious because this is a serious film. It is not a summer super-hero popcorn flick. It explores the dark side of human nature in such a way that forced me to ask "where is the hope?" when I left. There is an answer found in the self-sacrifice of some of the characters of the film. But wow, what a journey.
This is the best-crafted comic book movie ever. Those of you who argue with me on that point will probably say that The Dark Knight is not a comic book movie, so "Spiderman 2" is safe on the throne. And you're probably right. Except that what most of you average moviegoers don't know is that this IS the comic-book Batman. This is the Batman in comics now. Dark, scary, mature. (Go read Batman: Knightfall, the novel by Denny O'Neil and see if I'm not right.) But this is definitely not a "comic book superhero" movie in the same way that Superman, Spiderman, Fantastic 4 or even X-Men are.
Ebert said:
Batman†isn’t a comic book anymore. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight†is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy. It creates characters we come to care about. That’s because of the performances, because of the direction, because of the writing, and because of the superlative technical quality of the entire production. This film, and to a lesser degree “Iron Man,†redefine the possibilities of the “comic-book movie.â€
Yes.
Are you ready for the review now? I don't want to give ANY plot points away. So let me just say that though I haven't seen the "Saw" movies, I imagine that the stuff the Joker comes up with here would be at home in them. The only difference is that you don't see the gore. The camera leaves the result to the imagination, but you KNOW. The dialogue spoken by the Joker may be scarier and more disturbing than anything you actually see. (And some of the stuff he does out of view of the camera is slasher-flick evil.)
And about the Joker: Yes, Ledger is unbelievably...believable. This is one of the greatest villians to ever (is there a word for the opposite of "grace"?) the screen. Though I think he may have borrowed the lick lipping thing from other screen villians, when Ledger did it I was reminded of a demonic creature slurping the last remaining blood of it's victim. He possesses this character.
This is not a comic book movie where the good guy fights the bad guy and has trouble along the way. (Like the Spiderman movies) This is a movie where the bad guy fights the good guy, and the good guy is forced to look at what's bad in the human soul, including his own.
This is a movie that grapples with original sin and the nature of evil. What makes us good? What makes us bad? The Joker, like Satan in the book of Job, says that good people are only good as long as the circumstances are right. But if you change their circumstances...they'll be evil like him. His motive for his badness (and there's A LOT of badness) seems to be to force humanity to look at itself in the mirror only to find the Joker's face (as a symbol of evil) staring back.
Let me close with some comments on the other characters.
Bale is awesome as Batman. He undisputably the best Batman ever in the best Batman movie ever made. His performance may be overshadowed by the Joker's but it's excellence shouldn't be overlooked or forgotten that if he wasn't so good the movie would have failed. This movie was a team effort.
Maggie Gyllenhall as Rachel. A good performance by an actress with more gravitas then Tom Cruise's chickadee. It was necessary for the film's story.
Caine and Freeman as Batman's mentors/helpers. Awesome. The big three protaganists (Bruce, Rachel and D.A. Harvey Dent) all have to change in some way. These guys show that you can be solid supporting anchors without being 2 dimensional. They don't "change" but they feel like developed characters.
The people in this movie don't feel like comic book characters. They feel like people in an impossible situation. And while watching this movie you feel like it's totally plausible, which may be why it's a movie I appreciated more than I enjoyed.
"Why So Serious?" Because that's what kind of movie this is.
Note to Parents: if you take a CHILD to this you're as cruel as the Joker. Please don't. This is a movie by grown-ups for grown-ups. Those of us who grew up with Batman selfishly kept him for ourselves. Kids are going to have to settle for the movies and TV shows of the 60's and 70's. I'm really glad they made this move for me, but for my kids I'm sad. This is a Batman they can never see while they are still in the innocence of childhood.
There's a lot to chew on, so as I think of stuff, I'll add to comments here.
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Comments on "Why So Serious? A Dark Knight Review":
2. Shrode
- 07/20/2008 4:22 pm CDT
Academy Awards:
Dark Knight will be nominated. If not for Best Picture (it won't win) they'll at least nominate Chris Nolan for Best Director.
And yes, I think that Heath Ledger will be nominated for Best Actor. And I don't think it will just be a sympathy nomination either. I think he would have been nominated even if he were still alive.
I don't think he'll win, but he'll be nominated for sure.
Michael Caine and/or Aaron Eckhart ought to get Supporting Actor Noms.
3. Shrode
- 07/20/2008 4:30 pm CDT
The Cast in this movie is UNBELIEVABLE!
It seems that even for smaller parts, they at least got serious TV actors who have depth and range. I could not believe how many actors I knew that were in this movie.
Christian Bale - Batman/Bruce Wayne
Aaron Eckhart - Harvey Dent
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Rachel Dawes
Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox
Eric Roberts - Maroni
Anthony Michael Hall - Engel (Hello Dead Zone)
Heath Ledger - Joker
Michael Caine - Alfred
Gary Oldman - Gordon
Cillian Murphy - Scarecrow
Nestor Carbonell - Mayor (Lost fans, pay attention)
Michael Jai White
William Fichtner - who you know, you just don't know you know him.
Wow, what a cast.
4. Shrode
- 07/20/2008 4:52 pm CDT
We have a consensus! I just read a whole mess of critics over at rotten tomatoes. All, except one, agrees with me. It was strangely interesting to see them saying most of the exact same things I was saying. Really. The exact same things. (Including the don't take the kids part. It's hard to imagine that this movie and Spiderman 2 both have pg-13 ratings.) One of those guys said that this movie is just a few blood drops away from an "R". That's probably true.
If you take your kids, I'll come over your house and show you what a Batman pummelling feels like. 
5. Shrode
- 07/20/2008 4:55 pm CDT
Note to fellow pastors:
Don't see this movie the night before you preach. It was hard to get my mind where it needed to be this morning.
I had to write this review to get it out of my system.
6. Jared
- 07/20/2008 5:07 pm CDT
I'm going to see it tomorrow night with some Element peeps after small group.
Shrode, what do you think of Brant Hansen's review?
7. Shrode
- 07/20/2008 5:25 pm CDT
I agree with Andrew. (Well, I have a minor disagreement with Andrew which I mention in comments over there.) But I mostly agree with Andrew and not Hansen.
I do think Hansen has some good points, but this movie isn't the one I'd make them about. I also think that if a three year old had been sitting next to me that it would have colored my enjoyment of it BIG TIME!!!! Seriously, it might have ruined it for me.
I'm glad you're going to see it. I'm really curious about your thoughts. In my view this is a serious movie about serious things. So I have to admit I probably didn't enjoy all the action as much as I should have. (But a few times I said aloud in fanboy appreciation, "Wow, that was AWESOME!!!)
I'd love to discuss it with you. Did you see "Batman Begins"?
8. Jared
- 07/20/2008 5:38 pm CDT
I did. I liked it quite a bit, but not as much as most everybody else. For me, "Spider-Man 2" is still the highwater mark for comic book adaptations.
I'll probably like this one. I find Hansen's review interesting as he recently took some heat for seeing and appreciating "Borat." If any recent popular film has testified to American cultural and moral rot, it could be that one.
9. jen
- 07/20/2008 6:36 pm CDT
Jared, will you do a review, too? I'm really interested in your take on The Dark Knight.
10. Jared
- 07/20/2008 7:50 pm CDT
Jen, I wouldn't want to "trump" Shrode's review, but I'll probably share my thoughts on it in some form. Probably in the comments here.
11. David Marcoe
- 07/21/2008 12:07 am CDT
This is the best-crafted comic book movie ever. Those of you who argue with me on that point will probably say that The Dark Knight is not a comic book movie, so "Spiderman 2" is safe on the throne. And you're probably right. Except that what most of you average moviegoers don't know is that this IS the comic-book Batman. This is the Batman in comics now. Dark, scary, mature. (Go read Batman: Knightfall, the novel by Denny O'Neil and see if I'm not right.)
Along with The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, The Man Who Laughs, A Death in the Family, Dark Victory, The Cult, Arkham Asylum, Hush, The Dark Knight Returns, and JLA: Tower of Babel, all of which you can find in the 25 Greatest Batman Graphic Novels.
12. jen
- 07/21/2008 6:09 am CDT
Jared, that'll do. =)
Philip, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm glad for a different perspective than Brant Hansen's from another Christian whose opinion I trust.
13. Bill
- 07/21/2008 7:17 am CDT
I haven't seen it yet, but will probably see it on Wednesday with Son #1. Thanks for the review, Shrode.
I read Brant's review too - here's my favorite part from the comments:
Commenter writes: I think I get what you are saying here, but I don't find myself bored by experiencing great art. Perhaps you don't classify this film as "great" art". I guess having your expectations in line is probably the first step to not being bored or disappointed. When I see this movie on IMAX on Monday night (God willing) I don't expect to have it change my life or make all my problems go away, but I do expect to marvel in the creative gifts of the hundreds of different people that collaborated to make this movie. When I observe this kind of artistic expression I find myself pointed to the ultimate Creative One and I find satisfaction in that. The finite creative expressions of humans point me to the infinite Creator. I don't think we have to disparage the former to see and worship the latter.
Brant responds: If a well-filmed scene of "the Joker" killing someone with a pencil through the brain leads one to worship, so be it. All in all, I'd rather have not seen it.
Heh.
14. bif
- 07/21/2008 10:47 am CDT
The family and I saw the movie yesterday and all things considered I would agree with your review more than Brant's. Brant's was a little heavy handed and painted with a very wide brush. What he said could easily have been said about any of the trailers for up-coming movies or new TV shows that we saw prior to the movie.
15. Jeff Terrell
- 07/21/2008 12:59 pm CDT
Hi Shrode,
I loved your review. I saw the movie last weekend and LOVED it. On the way home, a friend of mine, who hadn't seen it yet, very excitedly asked me what I thought, and I told him, "You know, it's good enough that I wouldn't even tell you to keep your expectations under control." Yep, it's that good.
Anyway, I agree with all you say in your review, Shrode. Well done. I just wanted to respond to your first comment, about the "Macguffin", a.k.a. a plot device.
Plot devices, according to a friend of mine with a degree in English literature, are a crutch, a weakness. The great storytellers (like Shakespeare) talk about human nature without relying on them. I think Nolan is quickly becoming a truly great storyteller, and "The Dark Knight" is a great example of how to tell a story about human nature without leaning too heavily on such crutches.
16. Ken Brown
- 07/21/2008 5:28 pm CDT
Great movie, great review, and I completely agree about the "not for kids" comment. At least three couples brought a young child to our screening, and all three had to carry the kid out screaming and crying within the first half hour. What were they thinking?
17. Philip
- 07/22/2008 4:19 pm CDT
Jeff,
I think you are right.
Ken, Wow. All three?!? Man, I wonder how many of the rest of the audience noticed what you did?
David Marcoe,
Thanks for that link. If anyone is interested, perusing that list shows you what I was talking about when I said that this movie introduces you the Batman that Batman fans have known for years.
Some of those I hadn't read in a long time, so I had forgotten how many ideas the Nolan brothers had stolen...I mean adapted...from those very important graphic novels, especially, but not limited to Frank Miller's Year One and "The Killing Joke".
Oh, and I loved the intro paragraph:
Batman is the greatest comic-book character ever created. We say this with confidence, because it seems every writer has at least one Batman story to tell. No other character has more graphic novels and trade paperbacks. It's not even close. The list we initially compiled, which certainly missed at least a few out of print prestige-format books, rang it at more than 150 titles. That kicks Spider-Man, Superman and every other comic-book characters (butt) big time.
18. Quaid
- 07/26/2008 10:20 am CDT
Shrode - I agree with everything you said.
I, too, found myself saying, "That's awesome!" more than once - and I don't talk to movies. I don't. But there were some times when I was just blown away about how good what I just saw was. It was all incredible without being over-the-top. Now that I've had a night to sleep on it, I like it that much more.
I can see what you mean about preaching the next morning. I HATE when something like this gets in my head before speaking. That's partly why I like to take in a little SNL the night before speaking on Sunday morning - not because it spiritually prepares me, but because it helps me unwind, relax and reset before sleeping (which does all three of those things, but better).
Good thoughts - good review.
Leave a Comment:
Do you know what a "Macguffin" is? Ebert defines a "Macguffin" as an object in a movie that drives the plot. It's what everyone is after and it doesn't matter what it is, or even if you know what it is like in "Ronin" or "Mission Impossible III"
Other filmmakers and critics define it as any object that drives the plot. George Lucas says that in the original Star Wars R2-D2 is the "macguffin". So I figure the ring in "Lord of the Rings" is the Macguffin.
So what is it in "The Dark Knight". I think it's the Joker's Plan. After you see it, tell me if you agree.