I Love Looking Good

The much anticipated and eagerly awaited sequel to the smash hit “Batman Begins” certainly blew off with a huge bang last weekend as cinema goers all over Singapore ventured out in droves to catch the action filled but interestingly dark sequel “The Dark Knight”. Indeed, Tim Burton would have been proud of the new director Christopher Nolan reins as the focus is certainly to a grim Gotham with a rather eerily sense of nonchalant cynical humour in this movie’s plot.

The Dark Knight

Synopsis

The Dark Knight (a 3 hour long movie) is directed and written by Christopher Nolan (The director of such hits The Prestige and Memento). With a powerful cast of Christian Bale (also acted in The Prestige), Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart & Gary Oldman as main characters supported by stellar actors Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Cillian Murphy. The movie is basically about Batman (Bale), District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) and Lt Gordon (Oldman) joining together to rid the streets of Gotham from the likes of the Mob run by Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts) and the maniacal chaos-loving man only known by his calling card and wonderful scars: The Joker (Ledger). Their cause bears fruit as they were winning the war till the Joker takes interest & decides to have a little fun with their plans.

Review

Simply Breathtaking! Beautifully scripted, although a tad too long with moments of rushness to cramp in as much scenes but still brilliant. Anyone who thinks that this is just another Batman movie or comic book will be blown away by the idiosynchracies, deep underlining meanings and psychological connotations behind this movie. Indeed, i never would have expected a Batman movie to be so wonderful to iniatiate thinking and enable the audience to look at one’s self to identify a true answer to what is a civil society and what does it take for a rational human being to snap himself into a demonic savage being.

The fun part of this movie is that it can be enjoyed by all types of people. The general public will be awed and enticed by the action sequences and fast pace dramatic plot. But more importantly, for the other group of thinkers that love movies to spark the fuse in their minds, then catch this movie. With a touch of Nolan’s style from Memento and the Prestige, he has once again continued his brilliance in The Dark Knight. Even Tim Burton will be proud of how dark and cynical this new Batman and Gotham have been portrayed by Nolan. Batman Begins was certainly just the beggininig for Nolan as he twisted and manipulates our minds to question society and an individuals mind.

What does it take to cause anarchy?

Simply push the right buttons. Hahahahaaa! Hoo ho.

Nolan shows how a decript, corrupted city like Gotham or any other city in the world (caused by the infestation of Ra’s al Ghul devastation of Gotham’s economy in Batman Begins) requires true heroes or “Knights” to rid of the streets of the filth that tears down the good morals and social aspects in a society. It shows the importance of brave men needing to come together to fight against evils in a society. Our heroes manage to push the Mob to a corner feeding off and preventing them from spreading their ills. However, once an animal is retreated right at the edge of a cliff, it brings about dire consequences with irrational thinking. It causes the Mob to trust and hire a man whom they once considered an enemy. The maniacal, sadistic, chaos-loving, full of hate and deeply troubled Joker which ultimately spells dire consequences for Gotham and our dear ‘Knights”

(Just a side opinion. It makes me come to a realisation that every society will always have a dark side. Every society will have social ills and vices as Man have a choice to walk a path of either the Light or the Darkness. However, to fully rid of a society’s ills will actually undermine an entire nation. It leads to a disturbance in the Force as Yin & Yang comes about to counter the reaction. As according to Newton, every reaction has an equal an opposite reaction. Thus, so too does the action of Batman. It leads to the attraction of a far dark maniacal chaos loving enemy. A beautiful aspect of it was that neither can destroy the other. Batman have his strict principles of never being the adjudicator. Whereas the fun loving & live for the moment Joker has no wants of killing Batman as it spoils the fun to lose his true equal. What fun will it be if there isn’t any true challenges?)

The Cast

One of the strongest cast that I have ever seen. Indeed the actors perform like clockwork as they portrayed their roles with supreme perfection (not a hint of doubt or bad acting) such that you will entirely believe they have been in that role for years. You have to respect Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy & Eric Roberts  for being able to pull of their roles without a hint of problem although being given limited air times. Well, expect Christian Bale to take a back seat as there is very little character development of Bruce Wayne (esp when the first movie clearly covered every angle of him). You just will be able to see more action and his heroics. Indeed, many of the stunts were performed personally by the adrenaline seeking junkie. Praise also to Maggie Gyllenhaal for effortlessly taking over Katie Holmes role as Rachel Dawes. You forget at times that she isn’t the original actress and yet moments you tend to forget that as she captures the essence of Rachel Dawes (the motivator, inspiration and love of Bruce Wayne). However, the main stars of the show are Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and certainly the dearly missed Heath Ledger.

Gary Oldman. What can i say of this versatile actor? Certainly under the category of Johnny Depp, Edward Norton, William H. Macy, Paul Giamatti and Geoffrey Rush. How many cherished roles do I have of him? As Sirius Black in Harry Porter, the deformed Mason Verger in Hannibal, Zorg in Fifth Element, Lee Harvery Oswald in JFK or the critically acclaimed Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Indeed, he has fully incorporated the true James Gordon which i have imagined from my days of reading Batman DC comics. The sequel, we see Lt James Gordon taking a far more important role playing as the mastermind and middle man between Harvey Dent and Batman to push the scum off the streets of Gotham. Wonderful acting, Gary Oldman  brings forth the desire among the audience to aspire and praise James Gordon. An ordinary, hard working, diligent, typical everyday working man earning an honest living for his family and yet has deep principles and dogged strengths to help the society to get rid of scum that infects a good society. A tearing moment is one where he was at the brink to decide which of his family is to die. Also, when the disappointment of watching his plans go awash into the drain. Magnetic performance by Gary Oldman.

Aaron Eckhart. Honestly, i didn’t even know who was this guy. Have seen him in a couple of movies although none that i have remembered. But mark my words, promising Actor! After The Dark Knight that is. He could have easily made a mockery of his role as Harvey Dent. An interesting character in the movie. Harvey Dent is Bruce Wayne’s challenger for Rachel Dawes love. He is also the feisty District Attorney prosecuting bad guys behind bars. Furthermore, a man of chance who is considered to be the “White Knight” of Gotham. Unfortunately, becomes prey to the Joker mind-twisting words turning him into the villain Two-Face. Praise to Nolan for building such a deep engimatic character.  And Praise to Aaron Eckhart who handled the role superbly encompassing great feelings and compassion among the audience for this tragic character.

And finally to the man everyone’s been talking about. Yes, the one and only Heath Ledger. The troubled actor who passed away due to a drug overdose was indeed an actor earmarked for greatness. Tragicly, that isn’t to be as he joins the list of Kurt Cobain, James Dean and River Phoenix, of what could have been. However, his last legacy is and will always be remembered as the Joker in The Dark Knight.

Academy Award for Heath Ledger?

A few people were actually in dismay when they decided to remake the Joker after a stellar performance by Jack Nicholson in Batman by Tim Burton. Who could match that maniacal laugh or the prancing dance after shooting down the Batwing? Or how about the antics of killing people with a smile? When i heard Heath Ledger was going to be the Joker, i wasn’t convinced he would be able to pull it off. How wrong i was.

The Joker in the Dark Knight is what a true monster is all about. He is not motivated by money, wealth or power. All he wants is to see the world burnt to the ground. To see Man fighting among his kin and bathe in the blood of innocence. Utterly Pure Anarchy & Destruction. Always following his heart, especially on whether to kill in a sadistic manner. A brilliant scheming planner with great manipulating skills (evident in the corruption of the “White Knight” Harvey Dent), his choice of fun clearly shows a sense of amoral pscyhological preferences to cause panic and pain. He clearly reminds me of Jakabok Botch in Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker.

My, my Heath. Bravo! Finally, an actor able to encompass a psychopathic killer since the days of Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. (One has to also remember that Christian Bale pulled off as a murderous psycho brilliantly as well in American Psycho.) Honestly, there were funny moments reminiscent of those funny scenes with Jack Nicholson. However, there were also strong sadistic moments that portrayed the frightening lunancy of the Joker that simply made audience stay silent, grimmed with fear as they see Heath performing brilliantly to show this murderous intent. Catch the scene with Heath explaining to a Mob Boss how he got his scars. It will send chills down your spine and i stood there applauding for that scene alone. Brilliance is portrayed when he tricks Batman into saving the wrong person. Also, the powerful scene when his visit to the hospital ends in a wonderful choreography of explosions. After such a stellar performance, I don’t quite see how anyone may doubt the capability of this young man or why he should be given an Oscar. However, i do fear that the Academy might not recognise his work and do think they will only give him a nomination. Hopefully, my words will not come true.

Why so serious?

Well, let’s move away from the serious theme. The Dark Knight indeed is a brilliant film. One for the whole family although there will be scenes of lunancy and deep misgivings at how cruel the world is. And yet hope is ever present as heroes are all around us to ensure that tiny spark will never fade away. Appreciate the movie and have a blast with the story. I can’t wait to catch it a second time.

Ratings

Storyline : 4/5 (Original, Brilliantly Breathtaking.)
Acting : 5/5 (What more can you ask from such a stellar performance?)
Special Effects : 4/5 (Little special effects but appreciate the original stunt works)
Overall : 5/5 (Enjoying, psychological movie that will certainly move you. The movie to watch for the year!)

Fai @ ilovelookinggood

Do read my other post : Clive Barker Mister B. Gone

Tags: Aaron Eckhart, Academy Awards, American Psycho, Batman, Batman Begins 2, Bruce Wayne, Chin Han, Christian Bale, Christoper Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Cinema, DC Comics, Eric Roberts, Gary Oldman, Harvey Dent, Heath Ledger, I make my own luck, Joker, Lido Shaw, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Memento, Michael Caine, Michael Keaton, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Oscar, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Tim Burton, Two Face, Why so serious?

Trackback URI | Comments RSS