The Dark Knight.  “You...complete me.”  5.0 out of 5.0.

Earlier this summer in my review of Jon Favreau’s adaptation of the Marvel comic book Iron Man (which I awarded 4.5 out of 5.0, a fairly prestigious score for what one would call a typical comic book summer blockbuster), I warned the creative forces behind The Dark Knight to brace themselves for serious competition for critical recognition in the comic book film category.  I quote:  “Iron Man does stand out considerably from the rest of the crowd, and that the makers of The Dark Knight should plan for an according critical reception in the shadow of Black Sabbath’s favorite superhero.”  I was honestly very concerned in the months leading up to the film’s release.  Considering the incredible hype which has built up around the film following the death of cast member Heath Ledger, I was worried that the film would not meet such high expectations; after all, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, released earlier this year, had been hyped about for two decades, and in the minds of audiences, flopped spectacularly, so much so that it has already contributed to the popular culture lexicon, serving as the inspiration for the Internet-originated “nuke the fridge” concept, the movie equivalent of “jumping the shark” (that phrase referring to the point at which a particular television series dropped considerably in quality, taking its name from an infamous episode of Happy Days featuring a water-skiing Henry Winkler, green screen and a foam shark).  While Ledger’s performance was being hyped about, I couldn’t help but think that Ledger was not going to live up to any of these expectations; after all, it’s not as if he was expecting the role of the Joker to be his final completed film role; could he have just made the film casually, leaving us with a mediocre swan song?  It seemed all too likely, and I was very concerned.

        However, after seeing The Dark Knight and mulling over the film for a while, I cannot help but feel a great sense of bewilderment, a spectacular sense of disappointment, not in the film, but rather, in myself; my worries about this film were perhaps the most misplaced concerns I have had in years; I can only describe my feeling as the film critic equivalent of being a computer programmer awaiting Y2K.  It’s a relief that it was untrue, but how wrong was I?

        The Dark Knight is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005), both films directed by Christopher Nolan, better known to critics as the creative force behind the indie masterpiece Memento (2001) and the entertaining thriller Insomnia (2003).  As of late, Nolan has begun working on larger-budgeted films, notably his revival of the once-thought-dead Batman film series and The Prestige (2006).  All of his films are of wonderful artistic quality, particularly Memento, his debut; surprisingly intelligent, skillfully crafted, professionally polished with an independent sensibility.  It’s about time that someone brought that kind of brilliance to Hollywood filmmaking.  Forget what I said about Iron Man being a likely candidate for the greatest comic book adaptation of all time; The Dark Knight has officially clinched that title.  And now arises a controversial question; can comic book films be included amongst mainstream film genres?  Is The Dark Knight capable of doing for comic book films what Star Wars (1977) did for science-fiction, or what The Silence of the Lambs (1991) did for horror films?  Perhaps not.  But it’s definitely a great start.

        The film picks up an unspecified period of time after the events of Batman Begins.  Batman (Christian Bale, who cannot pin down an American accent for his life other than his American Psycho (2000) voice)  has become the target of amateur crime-fighting imitators and harsh media criticism; is vigilante justice necessary in Gotham City?  Evidently so, considering how few members of the police force remain uncorrupted by the organized crime honchos, whose thugs are becoming the subject of Batman’s beatings.  Despite the fact that the Batman’s plan seems to be succeeding as far as keeping many low-level criminals off of the streets, things are only getting worse for the Caped Crusader; a new District Attorney by the name of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) has become the knight in shining armor for Gotham City, taking down corruption at any level his naïve little fingers can reach (strangely enough, Eckhart’s Dent bears an eerie similarity to another American political candidate who seeks change and hope; hint: his name rhymes with Marack Mobama), and his ex-girlfriend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, replacing, thankfully, Katie Holmes) has moved on and is currently dating Dent.  While it seems that Batman’s hand appears to be mediocre, the criminals who fear him have enough problems of their own; with Dent a sure-fire win for the office, and Batman and Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman, bringing in his Sid Vicious swag and making anal-retentive police-work seem cool) working together to bring down the mob’s money-laundering scheme, the mob is about to collapse in on itself.  However, the data changes when a new variable is thrown into the equation.  A charismatic stranger known as the Joker makes a proposition to Gotham’s mobsters; he’ll solve all of their problems by finding a way to kill the Batman (for a hefty sum, of course).  But there’s something about this character that seems strange beyond his theatrical tendencies; something that emulates anarchy.  Something that hints that he doesn’t care about who wins or loses; he just wants to watch Gotham City burn to the ground, lit aflame by the own chaos it is trying to contain.

        The Dark Knight succeeds on so many different levels that it seems almost impossible to exploit its flaws.  While some of the dialogue can get pretty spotty at points, the script is very solid, with an excellent and intelligent story on par with Martin Scorsese crime dramas.  While Christian Bale’s Batman voice, is, frankly, annoying and unintelligible, when taken in the right context, the actor brings enough balls to the role to make you forget that the man is dressed up like a giant bat.  Beyond those minor flaws, The Dark Knight deserves nothing but superlatives.  Nolan’s direction is excellent, with dark lighting, realistic urban scenery and art direction, excellently crafted action sequences, that while thrilling, don’t allow themselves to become so over-the-top that they transcend reality. Eckhart, Gyllenhaal and Oldman are all good in their roles, taking their parts more seriously than similar parts in other comic book films (Oldman in particular, who always seems to have a pinch of “I’m getting too old for this shit” embedded in his dialogue).  However, the real star of the film is the late Heath Ledger, delivering his final completed film role.  As I acknowledged earlier, I expected Ledger’s performance to be sub-par; how did he know that he was going to leave the world with this as his final part?  However, I was proven wrong here as well; oh, how I was wrong.  While I don’t believe that Ledger should get an Oscar simply because his career was cut tragically short, I do believe that he should get an Oscar on the basis that he is simply superb.  Even as a film enthusiast, it is difficult for me to recall a more devoted and more definitive performance in a major studio production released within recent memory; Heath Ledger’s Joker is nothing short of a villainous icon, a performance which is likely to redefine the idea of what an antagonist such as the Joker should be; psychotic, quirky, and most importantly, full of pitch-black yet hysterically funny humor.  His delivery is superb; the constant smacking of his lips, sleazy demeanor, skewed posture and strange walk all contribute to the dimensions of his character’s psyche, that being a gloriously shattered one.  It’s one of those performances you won’t get tired of talking about in the break room on Monday morning at the office.

        Overall, The Dark Knight is a solid hit; artistically spectacular, creatively wonderful and highly entertaining.  With the price of movie tickets these days being what they are, it’s hard to find a film that is worth spending ten dollars for to catch an evening screening.  However, The Dark Knight is one of those rare films that you won’t mind spending money to see.  So go ahead, invest your time and money in the film, buy yourself a ticket and sit down with a tub of greasy popcorn, a box of Junior Mints and a Diet Coke; you’ll be glad you did.  Look for The Dark Knight at the Oscars; it’s bound to be one of the best overall films of 2008.  Rated PG-13.