TheCC Staff
07-16-2008, 07:31 PM
Batman Is Back in One of the Greatest Sequels Ever
by Alan Noah (http://alannoah.com)
July 16th, 2008 - *SPOILER NOTE – the first half of this review contains some spoilers, but no major details are revealed - yet. I’ll warn you before we get to the heavy spoilers. Still, if you don’t want to know anything about the movie before you see it, stop reading Now.*
Batman Begins was a great movie. Everyone loved it. Its sequel had incredibly high expectations. And that was before Heath Ledger passed away shortly after shooting his psychopathic take on The Joker. In other words, the hype machine was in overdrive for The Dark Knight, and it would have been very easy for the flick to disappoint.
It doesn’t.
The Dark Knight picks up after the events of Begins, when Jim Gordon warned Batman that his presence would inspire the criminal element of Gotham to push back, and we see that is precisely what has happened. Batman and Gordon have gone after the organized crime and corruption in the city full force, and they even have a new ally in their fight with the newly elected D.A. Harvey Dent. But the underworld is not going away quietly, and in their desperation, they turn to a monster known as the Joker.
The Joker is an anarchist, pure and simple. He isn’t motivated by power or greed, just chaos. In many ways, he is the antithesis of Batman; Bruce Wayne created Batman as a symbol of good, to inspire the people of Gotham to have hope and do good, whereas the Joker constantly seeks ways to bring out the worst in people. The Joker is very deliberately not given an origin story, and while some fans may be disappointed by that, it makes sense given his character; he has no story to tell because he is not motivated by anything. Ledger played the role brilliantly, and he is able to appear simultaneously terrifying, creepy, and funny, though only in a demented sort of way.
As great as Ledger is in the movie, Aaron Eckhart can not be overlooked for his stand-out performance as Harvey Dent. Going into the movie, one knows that Dent will turn into Two-Face, and while the actual physical transformation itself is disturbing and tragic, the arc of what his character goes through is equally compelling. Dent, like Batman, has set out to clean up the streets of Gotham, but unlike Batman, he does not wear a mask. Bruce Wayne realizes and hopes that by inspiring people like Dent to come forward and fight for what is right, he may be able to return to a normal life without the Batsuit and with his love, Rachel.
The Joker, however, sees to it that such an eventuality doesn’t take place.
Click Here To Read The Whole Review (http://thecomiccollective.com/Movies-TV/Reviews/2008/July/The_Dark_Knight/)
Watch The Trailers (http://thecomiccollective.com/Movies-TV/Trailers/D/The_Dark_Knight/)
by Alan Noah (http://alannoah.com)
July 16th, 2008 - *SPOILER NOTE – the first half of this review contains some spoilers, but no major details are revealed - yet. I’ll warn you before we get to the heavy spoilers. Still, if you don’t want to know anything about the movie before you see it, stop reading Now.*
Batman Begins was a great movie. Everyone loved it. Its sequel had incredibly high expectations. And that was before Heath Ledger passed away shortly after shooting his psychopathic take on The Joker. In other words, the hype machine was in overdrive for The Dark Knight, and it would have been very easy for the flick to disappoint.
It doesn’t.
The Dark Knight picks up after the events of Begins, when Jim Gordon warned Batman that his presence would inspire the criminal element of Gotham to push back, and we see that is precisely what has happened. Batman and Gordon have gone after the organized crime and corruption in the city full force, and they even have a new ally in their fight with the newly elected D.A. Harvey Dent. But the underworld is not going away quietly, and in their desperation, they turn to a monster known as the Joker.
The Joker is an anarchist, pure and simple. He isn’t motivated by power or greed, just chaos. In many ways, he is the antithesis of Batman; Bruce Wayne created Batman as a symbol of good, to inspire the people of Gotham to have hope and do good, whereas the Joker constantly seeks ways to bring out the worst in people. The Joker is very deliberately not given an origin story, and while some fans may be disappointed by that, it makes sense given his character; he has no story to tell because he is not motivated by anything. Ledger played the role brilliantly, and he is able to appear simultaneously terrifying, creepy, and funny, though only in a demented sort of way.
As great as Ledger is in the movie, Aaron Eckhart can not be overlooked for his stand-out performance as Harvey Dent. Going into the movie, one knows that Dent will turn into Two-Face, and while the actual physical transformation itself is disturbing and tragic, the arc of what his character goes through is equally compelling. Dent, like Batman, has set out to clean up the streets of Gotham, but unlike Batman, he does not wear a mask. Bruce Wayne realizes and hopes that by inspiring people like Dent to come forward and fight for what is right, he may be able to return to a normal life without the Batsuit and with his love, Rachel.
The Joker, however, sees to it that such an eventuality doesn’t take place.
Click Here To Read The Whole Review (http://thecomiccollective.com/Movies-TV/Reviews/2008/July/The_Dark_Knight/)
Watch The Trailers (http://thecomiccollective.com/Movies-TV/Trailers/D/The_Dark_Knight/)