Wick's Review

Summary - Perfect 5.0

Wickedly funny, morally complex, tremendously engaging: Comik movies get no better. Worthy of its monumental hype, The Dark Knight far exceeds its immediate predecessor Batman Begins and arguably outshines the original Batman movie, even though that long ago picture was as lauded and even more revolutionary in its day.

Avenging hero movies rise as high as their villains allow. Two Face and the Joker – especially – elevate this movie to dizzying heights: They’re fascinating and compelling in ways rarely seen in mainstream entertainment. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker gets much of the credit for this, but the lines he’s given to say are just as important. A cornucopia of self-serving impulses, this Joker stands as an icon of evil, interested in anarchy and pain as much as treasure. Two Face, OTOH, stands as an object lesson in perverted self-righteousness. Together they provide rare depth of character, make that counter-character.

While comik movies have been a Hollywood staple for a couple decades now, 2008 – with The Dark Knight, the equally lauded Iron Man, plus the lesser but still hiqh quality Incredible Hulk and Hellboy 2 – will go down as the apogee of the genre’s golden age.

Acting - Great 4.0

Let’s not mince words: Heath Ledger’s Joker performance is one of the greatest in movie history, brilliantly mannered, stunningly unique, coldly terrifying. The fact that the guy died before the movie came out just adds to his legend, branding him worthy of mention in the same breath as original flameout James Dean and iconic Joker Jack Nicholson.

Agents and producers may love debuts, but damn the debuts: Heath’s Oscar-winning Joker stands as the greatest swansong in Hollywood history.

Christian Bale – celebrated as an uncommonly committed actor – seems callow to me. His Bruce/Batman doesn’t distinguish the movie. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, OTOH, lend their distinctive gravitas to the proceedings in very effective fashion.

Aaron Eckhart kills as Batman’s white knight counterpart, his movie star profile employed to great effect as the divide between his good and evil sides.

Maggie Gyllenhaal left me cold as the love interest. She simply doesn’t seem Movie Star worthy to share the big screen with Bale and Eckhart. Gary Oldman, OTOH, shows yet again that great looks aren’t required to be a great movie actor.

Finally, let’s hear it for Eric Roberts as the perfectly cast mafia don. No one fits the role better than Julia’s creepy big brother.

Film - Really Great 4.5

Visually distinctive, LOL funny, complex yet coherent, Christopher Nolan’s creation stands as a benchmark for big time Hollywood movies.

Edge - Risqué 1.7

Deserves its PG-13, especially given the psychological menace that is Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Reality - Surreal 2.7

2X to 3X across the board: circumstantially, physically and biologically, in similar fashion to Iron Man, given the non-alien, and therefore ostensibly natural grounding of both stories.

11 Comments

• MJ5K Apr 13, 2010 3:52PM

  Ah, how could I forget. There were just too many good movies out that year.

• Wick Apr 12, 2010 10:57PM

  Agreed. Let’s not forget Iron Man, also from 2008.

• MJ5K Apr 12, 2010 6:44PM

  I gotta say, Wick, as far as movies go, I’d say 2008 was the best year for movies since 1994 and movies such as “The Dark Knight”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “The Wrestler”, and “Milk” prove my point.

• Demona Feb 17, 2010 2:04PM

  Totally, on the flipping truck part.. I saw the behind the scenes.. it was pretty amazing how they pulled it off too!

• Demona Feb 17, 2010 2:04PM

  Totally, on the flipping truck part.. I saw the behind the scenes.. it was pretty amazing how they pulled it off too!

• Wick Dec 10, 2009 6:53PM

  Regarding loisamorton’s Review
  Great review w/ lots of interesting details. I wasn’t aware this was the first movie to have a real flipping truck.

• Wick Jun 12, 2009 11:53PM

  And now the advertising dominates an awards ceremony, sayeth the Hollywood Reporter. Seems a year late, but whatever. Well deserved. One click on the MoviePosterDB link atop this page confirms that.

• Fire at Will! Jan 24, 2009 11:36PM

  It’s a shame, but I think that it sent a big message to the Academy as well as Hollywood as a whole; big-budget, fantastical movies can be serious, engaging and just as award-worthy. I expect this to impact heavily with the release of films such as Watchmen – Lord of the Rings cleared the way for fantasy and blockbuster movies to be recognised, and perhaps one day the snooty idiots might begin to realise public opinion doesn’t often run parallel to their perceptions of what is “successful” or not.

• Wick Jan 24, 2009 1:37PM

  What a gyp that Dark Knight wasn’t nominated for Best Picture. It just goes to show how divorced from the audience the Oscars are, which is not to say that huge box office alone makes a movie Best Picture material. By the same token, neither does puny box office and prestige topics.

• Fire at Will! Aug 2, 2008 2:01PM

  I thought it lived up to my expectations, but I was struck by how it felt so much more like an actual crime film that happened to star Batman, as opposed to a Batman film.

• Wick Aug 2, 2008 4:07AM

  Agreed AMC, though I’d like to rescreen the original Batman movie to do a fair heads-up comparison.

  So funny story: I got out to see The Dark Knight about a week into its run, on a Thursday night. Was privileged to catch it at the Century 21, the biggest screen around, damn near IMAX sized. So after the movie, some guy in the row behind me says “I still get chills the third time.”

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