The Dark Knight

I saw the midnight showing in DLP at Legacy last night. I don't know how to express how satisfying this experience was for me. I went into this movie with higher expectations than any other film I've ever seen, and had those expectations exceeded. This is not a movie I would recommend the casual Bat-fan, or someone who enjoys action movies; it transcends any other comic book film, and creates an entirely new approach and realism that's never been brought into live-action media based on fictitious concepts. In addition to this, it takes the new definition of Batman that was brought about in Batman Begins to another level, a level that I think will change the face of the series for years to come.

A badass poster that I want really bad depicting Heath Ledger as the Joker, Christian Bale as Batman, and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent.

Every aspect of the film, from the actor's commendable performances to catching even the hardcore fan-based audience off-guard is done to a highly polished degree through plot twists and catastrophic circumstances. The movie contains climax after climax, giving the audience everything it desires and more. Anyone can go on for eternity about Heath Ledger's cosmic performance, but I find myself more surprised by Aaron Eckhart's ability to play Harvey Dent/Two-Face than anything. While Two-Face may be a well-known character to casual fans of the Batman series, hardly any of those fans would recognize the synonymous name Harvey Dent. For those of you unaware, Harvey Dent is Gotham City's district attourney, who later becomes Two-Face. Even in the horrible rendition of the character in the 1995 film adaptation Batman Forever, a brief scene depicts Harvey Dent being scarred when acid is thrown in his face during the conviction of a mob boss, creating Two-Face. Speaking of Batman Forever, the film does nothing more than detach audiences from Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Tommy Lee Jones is appalling as Two-Face, and I was delighted to see Eckhart resurrect the character from the ghastly depths he had been dragged into by Batman Forever.

Tommy Lee Jones makes me want to scream when I see his picture as Two-Face.

Besides more than adequately rebooting Two-Face, Eckhart portrays much more than just an overlooked side-villain in the background. Two-Face represents everything that The Joker is attempting to accomplish, turning order into chaos, in addition to countless duality themes throughout the movie. Many people do not understand the deeper meaning of Two-Face; that he is more than just a good guy who becomes upset that his face is scarred. He is psychologically unbalanced; two completely different personalities in one man. Not only is he schitzophrenic, but he represents pure, uncorruptable good as district attourney Harvey Dent, and that flawlessness is flipped, like his coin, into a twisted, deranged, and evil man, who creates his own skewed sense of justice. I hope that Nolan will bring Eckhart back in a third film, focusing primarily on Two-Face. Doing otherwise would be an injustice to his performance.

Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent in a promotional ad for his in-movie political campaign.

As morbid as it sounds, Heath Ledger's death also pushed this movie to a deeper level. Just as the white knight Harvey Dent tragically becomes Two-Face at the pinnacle of his career, Heath Ledger puts on an unforgettable final performance, and is taken away from the world at the very moment that we come to love him most. It gives the audience an introspective look on how Gotham-ites might feel when they learn that their beloved district attourney has become the very thing he is pouring his soul into fighting against, and the feeling of hopelessness they experience after having him taken from them. In the theater, audiences cheered at the appearance of Ledger's name in the credits, and provided the same sense of hope that citizens of Gotham City may have felt when seeing Harvey Dent's attempts to purge evil from their beloved city.

While the film-makers could not have planned Ledger's death, it only further adds to the tragedy surrounding the Batman universe, and is something that will be brought up time and again in future generations of the series, giving the title of The Dark Knight an elemental essence with regards to the film. In Batman Begins, Ra's Al Ghul shares the following with Bruce Wayne:

Ra's Al Ghul: But if you make yourself more than just a man
if you devote yourself to an ideal
and if they can't stop you
then you become something else entirely.

Bruce Wayne: Which is?

Ra's Al Ghul: Legend, Mr. Wayne.

In this same sense, Ledger has become a symbol of the Batman series. His performance and death are those of legendary calibur; something to be remembered vividly for any fan at the mention of this film. Perhaps Heath Ledger wanted to make sure he ultimately made the performance of a lifetime.

For another look at The Dark Knight, make sure to check out my friend's review over at Media Spec.

Starting anew

On many occasions, I have considered creating my own blog focusing on entertainment, media, and other things that interest me in general, but have always lacked the courage to do so. I have recently thought of a few topics to get me started, and decided that now is as good a time as ever. I want to thank my friend Redskyy for giving me a little extra push as well.

I would love to update on a regular schedule, but I don't want my posts to seem forced/uninteresting, so I will most likely only do so when something really catches my attention and I have time to put effort into my posts and give justice to the things that I love. Stay tuned.