TheLastManInAmerica

It’s hard these days for anything to live up to the hype it generates. Even more insurmountable is when the hype surrounding it is all about how it surpasses the hype surrounding it. From music to movies to presidential candidates, the media and the masses alike attach themselves like leeches and ticks to anything with the slightest notion of being great. And nothing has been receiving more hype over the last month than “The Dark Knight,” Christopher Nolan’s follow up to the extraordinarily entertaining “Batman Begins.” With the film slated to pass the $300mil mark this weekend, a feat never before accomplished within the first ten days of theatrical release, it’s time to ponder if it is really that good. And, surprisingly, it is! More than just a comic book adaptation, the film is alive with plot and characters that add a sense of reality that far outdoes the previous incarnations of the story. Action is rife throughout the 152min long feature, as well as terrific performances by all characters, topped off by a timeless depiction of the Joker by Heath Ledger.

            Transcending the typical superhero action film, “The Dark Knight,” evolves into a top-notch thriller. With every moment that passes you, along with all of Gotham, become sucked deeper into the Joker’s wildly cunning plot to turn the city into frenzy and let chaos reign. Deception and turmoil abound as the city turns on itself, not knowing if even “The Batman” can be trusted. Like a master angler it reels you in from the very beginning but doesn’t release you until the credits roll. And although the movie is two and a half hours long, very few lulls make the time fly by.

            From a technical standpoint, the movie is superb. Great sound shakes the floor and rattles your eardrums to accompany some of the best live action stunts and CGI work I’ve ever seen. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference! Entire blocks erupting in balls of flames, incredible flights between buildings and dramatic reentries into moving jets are all pulled off so brilliantly that I just didn’t care if I knew it was real or fake. One of the more amazing aspects when it comes to the CGI in “The Dark Knight” is the attention to detail paid to Two Face’s expressions, which is phenomenal, especially in such parts when he scrunches the bridge of his nose and the wrinkles move seamlessly from the real side of his face to the exposed sinew and muscle tissue on the computer generated half. Things like this make me believe the filmmakers wanted to give it everything they had.

            Christian Bale is one again outstanding as the eponymous superhero. This time around he proves he is the definitive portrayer as he pulls off both the suave young billionaire and the gravelly-voiced vigilante with ease. Maggie Gyllenhaal adds depth to the character Rachel Dawes, a component missing from Katie Holmes’ portrayal of the young assistant DA in “Batman Begin.” In this film she is torn between her lifelong feelings for Bruce and admiration for her new boyfriend and Gotham District Attorney, Harvey Dent. The three form a strong circle, not only over the love for Rachel from the male leads, but over their determination to rid the city of crime. Harvey, who shares a similar internal struggle with Batman to not let his personal feelings get in the way of justice, is ultimately lost due to the scheming of the Joker to break Gotham’s Knights down until they become what they’ve been fighting against all along.

            But, as you’ve undoubtedly heard, the showstopper is of course, Heath Ledger, whose portrayal of the maniacal, Joker will be long remembered as one of the grittiest, most inspired performances of this generation, if not ever. I honestly can’t recall being so glued to a single actor’s presence on screen. And as I recalled that the first time I saw Ledger act in “The Patriot,” alongside Mel Gibson, and not really paying attention to anything he’s done since, I sat watching him thinking, Where the hell did he come from?! He is absolutely convincing as the deranged bank robber, whose every facial contortion, every mad cackle, and every lick of his lips belies a man who was truly insane in real life. His lunacy is eloquently summed up as he explains to Two Face, “Do I look like a man with a plan, Harvey….I’m a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught one.” He is in it strictly for the chaos. Why? “Because it’s fair.”

 I am fully aware of the tragedy of losing such a talented man so young in his life and career. But as tragic as it is, I am also aware of what it means. When I was a boy, around eight years old, I became fascinated with Kurt Cobain, a young man on top of the world whose life ended tragically soon. I will refrain from using the term Kurt’s mother used to indict the rest but Heath has now joined a group of the utmost talented artists whoever lived and died far too soon. Along the likes of Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and James Dean, Heath Ledger now rests as one of those who we talk with our friends about, wondering what they would do in the future. And although he has one more movie to be released, we will never know what that future would have brought. But from where we stand now, with him gone and this chilling farewell performance to remember him by, I doubt anyone denies he will live on for much, much longer.

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