because darryl wanted a review :)
so okay. the first thing you need to know about The Dark Knight is, Heath Ledger starred in it as The Joker. i think it was his last movie before he passed away. regardless, his performance was mind-blowing. more on this later.
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the SECOND thing you need to know about TDK is, IT IS JUST BLOODY BRILLIANT.
oh yeah, so that’s why people were lining up for it. that’s why i couldn’t get tickets for it the first three days everywhere – MidValley, Pavilion, Leisure Mall.
lemme confess that i never really liked the Batman movies. anyone remembers Batman Begins? no? cos it sucked, right. what about Batman and Robin? no? cos that sucked too, right. another confession: I watched one of the Spiderman movies three times. all in cinemas. yeah … okay so 3rd confession: when i entered the movie halls for TDK, i thought Ironman or The Hulk or Hancock (i watched all three superhero movies. what is wrong with me! or rather, what’s up with superhero movies!) would steamroll The Dark Knight.
well i was wrong. TDK steamrolled all three movies. beat them up to a pulp. and then drove a truck over them.
it’s a Batman show, but i’d say this moody, pessimistic, ambitious, unpredictable and morally complex superhero movie doesn’t only cater to, you know, kids. every scene is emotionally gripping, disturbingly charged and extremely vivid. and when The Joker is involved, it’s so good, it’s almost sick. Heath Ledger’s presence practically dominated this whole 2-and-a-half hours movie, and it was apparent that he embraced this character as his own, making The Joker seem like a disturbed, creepy, sadistic freak of chaos. he’s an utterly terrifying psychotic and completely monkeyballs insane, and every scene with him in it is a scary, grotesque laugh-out-loud moment.
before i was remotely interested in TDK and spent all my free waking moments playing Fighters’ Club, i had no freaking idea what the line “Why So Serious?” meant. i thought it was like some weird fighters trademark fight line, or something, like you know, “it’s just a game, involving virtual money, so why so serious?” etc.
and .. I WAS WRONG, AGAIN. that line was practically immortalized by The Joker, and everytime he says it onscreen it’s just .. classic. and it’s the tagline of the movie. obviously Fighters’ Club has a lot, a LOT of Batman fans -___- or whatever.
at the heart of this story is the question: Is it possible to maintain indecency in an indecent world? it become apparent, in this movie, that the protagonist is only as good as the villain. The Joker shapes The Dark Knight from its opening scene, yet the story is not about him, or their battle as much.
most of the plot focuses on Harvey Dent, the charming District Attorney who strides into the spotlight as the acceptable face of Batman’s vigilante violence, as the public hero figure of Gotham City intent on fighting crimes and corruption by law, only to crash and burn (like literally) and suffer horribly for his idealism. but before The Dark Knight can even consider hanging up his cape forever and live happily ever after with Rachel (who dates Harvey Dent in this movie), along comes a new kind of criminal who changes everything. The Joker isn’t after money, fame, or power; all he wants to do is upset the status quo and create imbalance and chaos, often using very sick and twisted ways.
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suddenly, Batman is Gotham City’s biggest law-breaker, and everyone wants him unmasked so the cruel insanity may end .. and at the same time, he’s the city’s biggest hope against evil. Batman’s drive is not exactly optimistic, as he resigns himself to always being the fall guy, absorbing blame to save the day. despite the odds, despite crime-buster Harvey Dent, despite Lt. James Gordon bringing out his police teams like nobody’s business, despite Batman himself, The Joker’s evil plans flawlessly executes themselves, always cruel, always involves car crashes and bombs and knives, and nearly always morally questionable.
to fight The Joker, Batman’s sidekick/provider/caretaker Alfred Pennyworth as well as Lucious Fox keep themselves busy updating all of Batman’s cool little gadgets – the bat costume, the Batpod and weapons. and the Lamborghini wtf. it sort of gets you thinking – Batman isn’t your usual superhero gifted with extraordinary powers like Superman or Spiderman; he’s really just a normal, albeit very athletic guy, he relies on all his little toys to turn into Batman and more.
the showdown was absolutely climatic – Harvey Dent’s character development as Two-Face, the Joker’s little social experiment concerning two ships full of people fleeing armed with a button to bomb the other ship before the other ship bombs them, Batman facing-off with the Joker, Gordon facing-off with Two-Face, Batman to the rescue.
and the memorable one-liners in the story? seriously, i love their quotes. “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.” “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” “This town deserves a better class of criminal… and I’m gonna give it to them.” and of course, “Why.. so.. serious?”
sigh okay no more. who wants to look at Batman’s cool shit cars?
the freaking shiznit BatPod.
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and the .. i’m not quite sure, actually.
okay no more. i’m so close to giving the whole story away.
and by the way, word has it that Heath Ledger’s gonna win an Oscar for his potrayal as The Joker :) but i do think Michael Caine was pretty good too.
