The Dark Knight: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
July 28, 2008 by J.B. Perlow
Filed under Feature
Some liked Superman, some liked Spider-Man, some liked Aqua Man (why?), but me, I liked Batman. Here’s a regular, albeit super rich, guy who used his intellect and technology to fight the psychotic, depraved, and eclectic criminals of Gotham. After living through the nipple-pointing turn the original Batman movies took, I was excited and pleased with the awesome revamping of the franchise in Batman Begins.
The Dark Knight has already received rave reviews and considerable hype, particularly after Heath Ledger’s untimely death earlier in the year. And speaking of celebrity deaths, this past week Estelle Getty passed away. Now you may not realize that Ms. Getty, or rather her Golden Girls character Sophia Petrillo, had a connection to the Batman franchise. In one episode, Sophia was romantically involved with Cesar Romero, who has previously played the Joker on the original Batman series. It’s a tenuous connection, sure, but I left “The Dark Knight” recalling something Sophia once said—”You are the biggest disappointment to hit the streets since the AMC Pacer.”
Few, if any, things went well in this film. For starters, where was the plot? Granted we had about ten subplots that barely fit together, producing a blob of Joker Brand-X cosmetics instead of than a cohesive story. First Batman was a vigilante, then he went to Hong Kong, then the Joker got freaky with a pencil, then Batman fought corruption with Harvey Dent…. I’m already confused and bored and we’re an hour into the film. By the time we get to the slow-clap-inspiring, prisoner’s dilemma two hours later, I left my attention span back in Hong Kong and just wanted the Joker to blow up Gotham. Not exactly the message one should take away.
Of course we note the tragedy that Heath Ledger (The Joker) had to end his life and Dark Knight will, unfortunately, be his last film; at least he delivered the best performance. For those who care, I put the Oscar nomination around 70% and the win around 10%. Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) comes in second place, delivering a convincing performance as Gotham‘s White Knight district attorney. But Christian Bale (Batman), what happen? He was great in Batman Begins, but this performance was lackluster—a victim of the other dynamic duo: Messrs. Poor Writing and Poor Editing?
Did I like anything? Sure. One or two comedic bits with the Joker. Michael Caine, who could make community theatre look good. The bat gadgets and outfits…..um, thinking here, er…it’s good to see Eric Roberts is still working?!? Sorry, I tried…really.
But let’s get serious for a moment. If you peel back the layers of scar tissue on this film, you find a simple morality play teaching us about the need to stand up to evil—despite the consequences and certain unpopularity. In the Gotham, some things are still black and white, good and bad. Through the Joker we see the embodiment of pure evil, not for any end game, just to promote chaos and terror. This is an important message for our world where we often forget that there are some truths left in the world and that we each, individually and collectively, struggle with good and evil. How sad, then, that the filmmakers, in trying to tell so much, left me both angrier with them than at the Joker and ambivalent to what Batman represents. Now, ladies and gentlemen, isn’t that the real evil in our time?
Director: Christopher Nolan
Release Date:July 18, 2008
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Runtime: 152 Minutes
