The Dark Knight
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
The second Chris Nolan-directed Batman film might be the most aptly titled film of the summer. "The Dark Knight" is way darker and more brutal than I expected from a summer blockbuster superhero film, even by the dark standards of "Batman Begins." It's also gripping, a little bit genius, and built to make you think harder about some big ideas.
The Story
Things in Gotham are looking up for a moment. Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has the bad guys on the run. New D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is mopping up the leftovers and laying down the law, and he doesn't mind a little help from Batman to get the job done. And even though Harvey is dating Bruce's ex, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Bruce is developing a grudging respect for the guy as a kind of "White Knight" alternative to his own shadowy persona.
When Dent and Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) arrest half the criminals in the city in one bold swoop, the streets appear to be safer than ever. Bruce even begins to wonder if he could hang up his cowl and win Rachel back as a regular old multi-billionaire boyfriend.
Enter the Joker (the late Heath Ledger) to bring some chaos to the mix. Killing criminals, cops, and bystanders alike without a second thought, the Joker moves in on what's left of the mob and demands a payment of half their collective money to kill "the Batman."
But the Joker's a little too wild to be controlled. He goes on a killing spree, demanding that Batman reveal his identity or he'll continue to kill one person every day. When he targets a judge, the mayor, Harvey Dent, and Rachel -- and someone close to Bruce gets killed -- Batman begins to consider going public for the good of the city. That leads to a diabolic plan to bring down the Joker. But whose plan is it, and what is the end objective?
The Verdict
What we thought of the movie on its own terms.
What Works: "The Dark Knight" is knocking down the critics, and I'm sure that by the time you read this it will have made a few bucks. It is undeniably one of the best planned and executed films of the year. Writer/director Christopher Nolan weaves a careful, expectation-phobic, damaged villain-versus-good story and then delivers it with a series of mostly devastating action sequences and frightening face-to-face encounters.
Part of the power of the film is that it won't play by the rules most comic book films hold to. It acts more like a violent cops vs. mob flick than a superhero movie (though with less blood and swearing). It kills off bad and good guys, heroes and villains, almost at a whim. In that way, the film follows the Joker's refusal to play like a good villain out for revenge or money or power. What does he want? Where is his story taking us? We're never quite sure, but it's clear whenever he's on the screen that it is his story.
Ledger's Joker is mesmerizing and scary, forceful and dark. His gleeful, damaged rage sits right on the surface, and he seems to casually expect (hope?) to be destroyed at any moment. Later in the film, he nails the madman's ability to sounds so reasonable spouting manipulative nonsense. The whole performance feels more than a little haunted by Ledger's untimely death.
Christian Bale is fine, but he's not asked to dig as deep this time around. As Lt. Gordman, Oldman really supplies the emotional core of the film, echoing the audience's grounded respect and wariness for Batman. He's our guy on the screen, and he does that really well.
What Doesn't Work: Is the film too dark? Do too many bad things happen to good people? Is the evil on screen too close to the real thing for comfort? For some, it definitely will be. For those looking for "Iron Man" or any other summer superhero movie, "Dark Knight" won't be taken so lightly.
Also -- and this is a minor complaint -- the film's tone is so seriously criminal and violently philosophical, that occasionally the guy in the Batman suit looks a little, well, silly. He almost doesn't fit the tone of his own movie once or twice, though it all comes together in the end.
Content: Did I use the word dark already? "Knight" would easily be rated R if such ratings were based on how the violence feels inside your head. Nolan succeeds in making all of the Joker's killings disturbing without often showing us any real detail. He sticks knives in people's mouths; we don't see the slicing, but we know it happened. A pencil goes into an eye socket; no detail, but I felt it. And the feeling lingered. That pattern continues throughout the film, along with all the traditional action violence. No real sexuality, and not a lot of swearing (though Jesus' name is used several times), but I wouldn't treat the kiddies or the squeamish to this nightmare.
Worldview
How the film's perspective compares with the Bible's take on life, God, and the universe.
[Warning: To discuss the movie's messages, we reveal a few spoilers below.]
We could spend way too many words talking about all the worldview issues skimmed and explored in "Dark Knight." Nolan and co. intend to provoke viewers to wrestle with big ideas during and after this film. We'll tackle a couple of them.
The Joker is often identified as a terrorist, a madman and, eventually, almost a kind of devil. His only identifiable objective is to bring confusion, destruction, and fear. In short, he is evil. And I like that Nolan's story takes that evil seriously enough to keep it from being a joke or containing a spark of nobility.
As with all irrational evil, the Joker serves as a test of the goodness of "good men." Harvey Dent's heroic goodness, when tested by evil, snaps. He becomes consumed with bitterness and enraged with the unfairness of it all. He commits himself to fate. "In a cruel world, the only morality is chance," he says before flipping his coin to decide whether or not to kill his victims.
Batman disagrees, insisting that Dent is making his own choices. As God's Word also teaches, Bruce believes people are personally responsible for their actions2 Corinthians 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad., even when the worst happens. To blame our choices on God or chance or our upbringing is self-destructive lie.
But are human beings basically good or naturally self-serving? "Knight" asks that question with a version of the old values-clarification exercise about a life raft and not enough room and who would you throw overboard first. I won't give the specifics away, but the film's answer is surprising: Nolan's representative humans argue, insist, demand and then make the most positive moral choice available to them.
It's DK's least dark moment, and it resolves a kind of unspoken bet between Batman and the Joker on the nature of man. Batman believes humans will sacrifice themselves for the good of others. The Joker believes the opposite. Observe the world for long, and you'll see arguments for both sides. God's Word ultimately holds closer to the Joker's view that true human goodness is an illusionIsaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away., in spite of the fact that sinful humans made in God's image will sometimes do good thingsRomans 5:7
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die..
According to the Bible, it's that lack of goodnessRomans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, in us that creates our need for a SaviorRomans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.. Batman also believes that people need a savior and a hero. But at the end of the story, he's willing to sacrifice his role as hero to be their savior. That's exactly what Jesus did when crowds recognized his power and were ready to make Him the King and follow Him as their hero into battle against the enemy. He refused and willingly became a criminal in their minds so He could save us allRomans 5:8-11
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation..
Questions
- Your take: Best superhero film ever or way too dark and violent? Or both?
- Was "Dark Knight" what you expected or did it surprise you? If so, how?
- What did you think of Ledger's performance? How do you think your perception of his Joker character was changed by knowing the actor died recently?
- Were you disappointed in any of Batman's choices? If so, which ones?
- What other Batman villains would you like to see make it into Nolan's franchise?
- What do you think about the nature of humans? Are we basically good or are we evil people in need of a Savior?