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“The Dark Knight” - dynamic, disturbing
BATMAN INTERACTIVES
- link: Review: Read Carl's full take
- link: → Rank the Batman actors
- link: → Rank the Batman villains
- link: → The Joker: Who has the edge?
- link: → Batman quiz
Saw a critics’ screening of The Dark Knight in Dallas yesterday and while I’m supposed to hold my review until the movie opens this Friday (or late Thursday night), I’ll preview the preview by saying this may be the best of the Batman films - as well as the most unsettling.
It’s action-driven throughout, but without the comedy or campiness of the first four films. Like the best comic books, there’s a cerebral or philosophical streak to chew on as director Christopher Nolan expands the question of Batman’s vengeful vigilante nature to a societal level: Where does the rule of law fit in when it’s threatened by a nihilist terrorist like the Joker?
Heath Ledger’s intense performance as the Joker merits the praise it’s gotten so far, but he largely fleshes out the role Nolan and his brother Jonathan have written for him, that of a destructive madman beyond the usual motivations of criminals - greed, power, lust, revenge - and the larger loyalties to which the good usually appeal (love of family, country, humanity). It’s this aspect of the Joker, and possible parallels in our current national war on some terrorism, that’s the disturbing part of the film. How does a free society fight someone or something that simply wants to bring it all crashing down with no thought of building anything in its place? Is mindful violence the only answer to mindless violence?
Enough said, other than the film’s intensity and dark nature should make parents of young kids take its PG-13 rating seriously. I’ll try and post a discussion thread after the movie opens to see if I’m reading too much into a comic book film …
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