Aniruddha Basu reviews Christopher Nolan’s widely anticipated The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan’s widely anticipated follow-up to Batman Begins is also an original story. Only this time, instead of the caped crusader, its arch nemesis The Joker who takes centre-stage. Wounded by scars far deeper than the ones on his face, robbing banks and murdering masses with equal glee The Joker is played by the late Heath Ledger in an unforgettable performance (and one that is sure to set Oscar bells ringing). But instead of playing it chronologically in flashbacks, Nolan only hints at what made the Joker such a potent instrument of absolute chaos.

The film begins with a superb bank heist sequence that introduces the Joker. Crime incidence has come down thanks to Batman’s untiring efforts, and also due to the appointment of a new district attorney Harvey Dent.. Dent’s passion for bringing justice to Gotham City rivals and even surpasses Batman’s own, giving hope to our masked hero that he can finally call it quits and lead a regular life as billionaire Bruce Wayne with childhood girlfriend Rachel Dawes. But there are two inbuilt obstacles to Bruce Wayne’s dreams of normalcy. The first is that Rachel is in love with Dent. And far more threateningly, The Joker has a few aces up his sleeve to deal with Batman.

It is Dent’s character which gets maximum attention from Nolan. Batman aficionados would know that Dent is destined to be transformed from a righteous civil servant to the monstrous “Two-Face”, and Nolan sets the stage in the first half by setting up Dent as the last true hope for Gotham’s citizens. Batman has been relegated to the sidelines, he is a shadowy agent of good who steps in when all else fails, but he can never be a real leader, as he hides his true identity behind a mask. On the other hand Dent’s courage and his determination to fight crime evoke admiration from one and all, including of course Bruce Wayne himself. Dent/ Two Face is played by Aaron Exchart and he is astonishingly effective both as the upright and straight-shooting D.A. and also as the horribly disfigured, cynical and tortured villain Two Face. Dent’s transformation to the dark side is managed effortlessly by Eckhart and he is the film’s most sympathetic character, manipulated by the Joker into believing that his struggle for justice was futile and random.
The Joker’s biggest weapon is to present his victims with a deadly and impossible choice, and one such choice given to Batman leads to Dent’s transformation into the ultimately tragic Two Face. Yet for all the attention devoted to Two Face, The Dark Knight is essentially the Joker’s movie. He inhabits a world without any rules, his motives for doing what he does are mysterious even to Bruce Wayne.

“This is a man even you do not fully understand,” Wayne’ faithful butler Alfred tells him.
Nolan had made Batman Begins in 2005, which broke new ground and gave fans the Batman they had been craving for ever since seeing Tim Burton’s muddled effort in 1989. Batman Begins’ understanding of the legend of Batman was uncanny, as it presented a psychologically wounded, very human Superhero compelled by childhood phobias and complexes to dress like a Bat. “Bat’s scare me, its time my enemies shared my dread,” Wayne says in the first film. The Dark Knight goes into even darker territory by exploring another, more dangerously disturbed individual, a green haired clown with splashy make up, whose demonic laughter will stay with viewers even after the end credits. It is also a more ambitious film than its predecessor, bursting at the rims with creative ideas, and Nolan’s characteristically dazzling visual style. But rarely does the filmmaker let his stunning set pieces and explosive action sequences come in the way of character development.

Cleverly, Nolan upstages viewers expectations by leaving the climactic showdown between superhero and super-villian tantalizingly open ended. Yes, Batman does win against his nemesis, but in doing so he loses everything that he cared for.
On the flip side, the director simply has too much going on this time around, and occasionally, all the activity can be confusing or chaotic. Its like Nolan is juggling half a dozen eggs at the same time, and we are uncomfortably aware that one of the eggs might smash anytime. It doesn’t-Nolan is too masterly a director to let that happen-but The Dark Knight does not have the obsessive focus of its predecessor. A journey to Hong Kong feels like a bit of a stretch and the sci-fi extravaganza with scientist Lucuis Fox in the last act gets a tad exhausting.

But hey, why crib about crumbs when there’s a whole five course meal on the menu? The Dark Knight has so much going for it, and it’s all done in such exhilarating style, that its easy to overlook its rare missteps.

This Dark Knight well and truly shines. Its already garnered heaps of critical acclaim and is sure to set the international box office on fire. Hats off to you again, Mr Nolan.

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