The Dark Knight - A second viewing, spoilerific review
I was lucky enough to go see The Dark Knight a second time this weekend, something that I rarely have a desire to do with most films.
In fact, I can name the few movies that I saw in theaters multiple times within a week or two of the opening: All three Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park was a phenomenon when it came out in 1993. It was a smashing success, it ushered in a new era for special effects and was also very, very entertaining. I worked at a movie theater at the time and I think I saw it over seven times. Me and another projectionist at my theater had a duel over how many times we could see it.
He won.
But I hadn’t though about those memories in so long and it took The Dark Knight to bring them rushing back. I was actually excited to see it a second time in just over 24 hours.
And on the second viewing, I was able to enjoy the story a bit more and realize how beautifully orchestrated everything was.
This article contains MANY, MANY SPOILERS and is intended to discuss the events that happened in the movie, the stuff I loved and give you all a chance to post comments free of spoiler restrictions.
You’ve been warned.
Jason said it best in his review yesterday. This movie felt like a crime drama, such as The Departed or Heat, but with the added comic book angle. The opening heist from the bank could have occurred in any number of great crime caper movies.
There was the gritty realism with the usage of an actual city. There was no dark and steamy Gotham City from the previous versions of Batman. Things happened during the day, with the sun shining.
One of the first things I noticed was the score by composer Hans Zimmer. I absolutely loved the way Zimmer created tension in many scenes with that steady wail that slowly increased to the eruption. I am no musician, but it sounded like a cello or violin sound that was stuck on one note, wavering ever so slightly, quiet at first only to grow with strength until the action hit.
A wonderful touch.
The introduction of The Joker was fabulous. And I’m not talking about the bank robbery we saw at the beginning. When he walks in on the mob leaders in the backroom of a restaurant, you witness the glorious evil that he encompasses.
And that scene gave us perhaps the most shocking, crowd-pleasing moment in the entire film: The magic disappearing pencil trick.
No one was expecting that, and the number of gasps and reactions around me (including my own) was amazing. It’s rare to be in a movie when one single moment sends shockwaves through an entire audience.
I could watch that scene over and over and over again.
What about Harvey “Two-Face” Dent? The CGI work on his horrifying facial disfigurement was astounding. His teeth seemed to blend in together, the muscles looked to be in the correct place and it was almost hard to tell that it wasn’t real.
Did he really die at the end? I heard people talking afterwards that Harvey dying so quickly really sucked, because he was a great character and Aaron Eckhart pulled it off beautifully.
His storyline was perfect, even if the transformation to Two-Face was rather fast and over even faster. I loved the subtle development of Dent’s two-faced coin coupled with the involvement of Rachel Dawes. Her death changes his coin from having identical sides to one that is charred black and represents the choice of life or death. Much different than the old comic book version, but good nonetheless.
Batman: Gotham Knight
For those that watched Batman: Gotham Knight, you probably recognized the character Anna Ramirez that appeared in The Dark Knight. She ends up delivering Harvey to the trap that ultimately changes him, and then betrays James Gordon’s family. We were told that this new animated feature bridged the gap between Batman Begins and this latest film, and at least with the introduction of Ramirez, it succeeded.
The weird element of this movie was the backseat that Batman seemed to take through it all. Yes, he had an agonizing struggle going on with the decision on what his “limits” were. But with the other storylines with The Joker and Harvey, Bruce Wayne seemed relegated to become part of the ensemble cast himself, not the main star.
But there were some great moments between Bruce and Alfred. The story Alfred tells of the Ruby Thief was such a great comparison to The Joker, it helped wake Bruce up to what he was facing. Alfred knows and understands Batman better than anyone else, and it helps him keep Bruce grounded and focused.
Perhaps the biggest impact of Batman in the entire film was at the very end. Bruce’s realization (thank to Alfred) that he can make the decisions and choices that help Gotham City and ruin him in the process, are a turning point for the Caped Crusader.
What does this leave in store for the next film? Will we get “Batman Redemption“? The public hates him now, the police are after him and only Commissioner Gordon knows the truth.
And speaking of Gordon, I think Gary Oldman plays him so well and with those big glasses, looks like he jumped right off the pages of Batman: Year One. He’s strong and vulnerable all at once. A hero who uses a vigilante to help him, despite what the public may think. His only goal is to clean up the streets, and he wont sell out to make it happen. A good, honest cop fighting in a town that betrays him at every turn.
I’d like to hear your opinions and thoughts on the movie, without worrying about spoilers. What did you love? Did you find any faults with it? And tell me you loved the Magic Disappearing Pencil trick!
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I'm glad you brought up the film's score because that's something that I didn't really mention in my review but certainly should have. It was thrilling and haunting and beautiful. We should mention that James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer did the music together which is no small thing. Howard did the amazing music for Signs which I'm sure most of us remember and also the music for Michael Clayton last year which was also very good.
I've only seen the movie once so far, but I wanted to let some of what I saw sink in before I went to see it again. I can't imagine what I might see the second time around. I remember when I first saw Saving Private Ryan and had a similar feeling. I purposely waited six months before going to see it again in the theater and it was well worth the wait. I'm not sure I'll wait that long this time.
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I loved the..."I'm like a puppy chasing a truck, I wouldn't know WHAT to do with it if I caught it!"
Was so hilarious.
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Cheap plug, but I felt compelled to blog my analysis of the themes of DK after seeing it... If anyone's interested, it's here:
http://www.alt-shift.com/blog/2008/07/21/the-da...
I'd love to hear what you guys thought.
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I also wondered why Two-Face was introduced and then killed off so quickly.
And I'm a little iffy on the whole "Batman taking the blame for the cops that Two-Face killed" thing. That seemed like an awfully contrived way to turn Gotham's police against Batman. Almost like a last-minute addition to the movie just before it hit the can.
These are pretty minor quibbles tho.. The movie was great and Heath Ledger was captivating. I found myself wondering what they'll do with the Joker in the next movie - and then it dawned on me that Ledger is gone. I'm hopeful that they won't try to replace him.
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I thought about The Joker and whether or not they would have used him for the next film as well. Somehow I'm almost certain they would have and I think it would have been the worst thing to do. In some ways I think, it's better for the memory of this movie that we know The Joker is gone and that he went out with a bang. It would have been a shame if they had brought him back for a sequel and it wasn't nearly as cool.
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As a matter of fact, Alfred can be credited for explaining this to Wayne...
"Endure. You can be the outcast. You can make the choice that no one else will face - the right choice."
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It was all about the fact that he can make choices that others can't. And that was one that needed to be made.
I LOVE the way they left it and what we'll get to see next time.
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