The Dark Knight **Minor spoilers**

I promised I’d be back with thoughts on The Dark Knight, but thesourgrapes wrote such a fine review I really wanted everyone to have a chance to read that before I stuck my two cents in to the mix. I agree with pretty much everything thesourgrapes had to say, so I’ll try not to be too repetitive here. But here are the things I loved (which will be immediately followed by those things I didn’t love).

1) James Gordon. Gary Oldman is the perfect James Gordon. Now while everyone had been getting their panties in a bunch over Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart, (not unreasonably) I linger on one of my most loved characters from the comic. I’ve always loved this cop who turns a blind eye so Batman can do his thing. Because Jim Gordon is a good guy. He believes in the law. But he’s also so broken by the corruption of his city that he allows Batman to operate as a vigilante. The relationship between Batman and Jim Gordon has always be the crux of what makes Batman’s story work–he’s endorsed and supported by the law. Which kind of balances out the fact that when you get right down to it, he’s a head case who bashes heads at night in Kevlar pajamas. So I loved that Gordon, the guy who legitimizes Batman, had a large and important role in this film and that Gary Oldman so effortlessly channeled the character. It was almost as if Christopher Nolan went to Gotham one day and recruited Jim Gordon to play himself.

Lt. Jim Gordon

And in parallel with Gary Oldman being perfect as Lt. Jim Gordon, I liked how much police work we got in the film. Batman is a detective after all. He debuted in Detective Comics and he is known as “the world’s greatest detective.” So I like to see him collaborating with the cops, bending the rules they can’t. That’s when Batman is at his best–doing all the dirty work. The film took Batman’s role as the police force’s heavy and took it to the extreme with, shall we say, an unsanctioned extradition. Fun.

2) Harvey Dent, Two-Face, Aaron Eckhart. Yowza. Okay. The script couldn’t have set up Harvey Dent’s fall any better. First off, I had no idea Two Face would play such a prominent role in the film. I kind of assumed we’d see him get burned at the end as a lead-in to the next film. I was hoping for that actually, because I hate how Batman films have traditionally over-used the rogues gallery. However, this film was roomy enough for two villains, and there is an exchange between Two-Face and Joker that is so perfect, I would never wish it away.

But the thing I loved about the Harvey Dent/Two-Face story as it was executed in this film is that, knowing how Harvey’s story ends, the audience can’t help but suffer from a suffocating sense of dread as Harvey is built up into the white knight of Gotham City-the one guy who can clean up the corruption. Pretty much everyone who goes into this film knows how Harvey’s story ends. And it is gut wrenching to watch this guy fall. It’s just what George Lucas was going for in the Star Wars prequels, but failed miserably to achieve: make our heart break because we know that sweet kid (and later obnoxious, whiny teenager) is going to become Darth Vader. What Lucas failed to do in three films, Christopher Nolan nailed in one. Every moment Harvey Dent is on screen is another moment for the audience to fall in love with him. And each one of those moments where we love him, and applaud his cause, adds to the terror that comes with knowing what he will become.

3) Joker. Nailed. Period. It’s a damn shame. We’ll never see Heath Ledger reprise this role. But movie viewers are lucky to have gotten this one film. What a talented guy. I’ll be honest. I didn’t like all of Joker’s mannerisms. I hated how he licked his lips constantly. I hated his voice. Those two things disgusted me. They were a turn off. But that’s okay. He’s Joker. He’s a psychopathic murderer. It’s okay if he disgusts me. It’s safe to say that Heath Ledger is most responsible for pulling off Joker, but credit also goes to Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan who gave Joker all the best lines in the film.

4) Joker was always one step ahead of Batman. There were so many moments in the film where you thought you knew what Joker was up to, but then each situation proved to have this little twist, much like a dagger twisting in one’s back. This is probably what I appreciated about this film the most. I’m a pretty cynical movie goer, because so many films are so darned predictable. But at least three times during this film, I found myself thinking, “Damn…didn’t see that coming.” That’s a pretty rare experience for me, and I relished it each time it happened.

Okay, a few things I didn’t love. And these are pretty minor. The first is something I kind of loved about Batman Begins, and that’s Batman’s gravelly voice. For some reason, when Batman was becoming the bane of the underworld in the Batman Begins, I liked that he was kind of growling at his prey. It worked, especially when his visage was made all the more terrifying by Scarecrow’s fear agent. But in this film, and it could just be the number of times we have to hear him talk like that, it seemed forced and unnecessary. It would have been creepier and more effective for him to whisper. By the end of the film his voice almost seemed comical.

I also hated the way most of the fight scenes were shot. Many of them were confusing, too close in to the action, and it was often difficult to follow what was going on. Although Christopher redeems himself a bit by flipping an 18-wheeler end over end. Glee!

Overall, I thought this was a great film. It was suspenseful, funny, chilling, and deeply sad all at once. The one thing I wonder is, what next? How can the franchise survive Heath Ledger’s death? I’m not sure recasting Joker would work. Joker is essential to Gotham mythology, and I just can’t see how to replace Heath Ledger’s masterful take on Joker. If someone is willing to attempt the part, I’ll keep an open mind. But Nolan decides to recast Joker, that actor’s going to have a hell of a time living up Ledger’s performance. I’m hopeful that we’ll get at least one more great Batman film out of Nolan and company. We’ll see.