Friday, July 18, 2008

"The Dark Knight": A Very Brief Review

Although it is not a film without problems, “The Dark Knight” is certainly the most audacious “adult” comic-book movie ever produced.

But for the record, any and all hype on Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker is well-deserved. It’s ingenious. And Joker’s complex relationship with The Batman (with Christian Bale turning in another fine performance) is probed as deeply as “Dark Knight’s” near three-hour time span (critics were right, it is too long) will allow.

All other supporting performances—especially Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon—are strong, and hold up well within a script co-written by Chris and Jonathan Nolan who—for my taste—leave a few questions dubiously unanswered, and more than one sub-plot out meandering on its own.

For my take, “The Dark Knight” is not the best comic movie ever made (that mark still goes to 1978’s “Superman,” bad poetry and all), but it unquestionably makes all previous Bat-films that preceded it (save “Batman Begins”) resemble childish projects best left in a sunless and remote corner of one’s video vault.

In “TDK,” Batman has at last grown-up into the character he always should have been on-screen: menacing, conflicted, driven, and more than a bit unhinged.

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