The Batman is back! And, this time he is facing a villain worse than anything that ever crawled out of any sewer.
A Villain that is worse than evil. A Villain that
is. Gotham City needs a hero now more than ever. This White Knight comes in the form of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckels), the new District Attorney and consequently Rachel Dawes' (Maggie Gyllenhall's) new squeeze. Harvey is committed to putting criminals behind bars. This obsession makes him a key target for the mafia gangs that rule the city. What he hasn't counted on (and neither have the mafia) is the latest criminal to own the streets of Gotham - The Joker (Heath Ledger).
'This City deserves a new class of criminal... and I'm gonna give it to 'em' drawls Ledger in his creepy, skin-crawling, maniacal, self-righteous performance. There is no line between right and wrong, good and bad for this twisted, self-mutilated man, only the pursuit of mayhem and madness... a divine intervention on the limits of humanity. How far will a good man go before he falls over the edge?
This is exactly what The Joker sets out to test when he sets his sights on Gotham's White Knight.
So what is so great about this Batman film? Why is everyone raving about it? The answer is coz it doesn't play around. This is hardcore, authentic
comic book material. This is Batman brought to life - swooping off rooftops, crashing through windows, then, as suddenly, gone. Viewers are not bored with the introduction of the multiple characters of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale). There are no sleep induced scenes of Christian Bale learning the art of Kung-fu from Liam Neeson. Rather, we are hit with fast-paced action sequences and cut-throat murders that leave no time for mourning as The Joker plans his next party trick.
The Batmobile makes an impressive performance as does the Bat-motorbike, bat-sonarvision and bat-suit. It is Bat gadgets a go-go! Bale inhabits his character so well that at times it is difficult to remember that he and Batman are separate people. Bale even inhabits the shoes of Bruce Wayne, Playboy, with this same convincing act that it is strange to think of Wayne as Gotham's Batman. An excellent performance.
What, in fact, makes the film the best comic book superhero film is its adherence to unique comic book elements. Each scene feels that it could be framed in white, placed on paper and given a speech bubble. The characters say short, one-liner dialogue fuelled with action and emotion. Importance is given to close-ups on the face of the villain, the lethal weapons. This all (much like in a comic book) gives the inanimate weapon an ominous presence (a pseudo character).
Heath Ledger's performance is astounding. Quite simply, it is oscar material. The clown make up, the inadvertent darting tongue, giggling excitement and expressive hands construct a devious villain. This is called method acting - when an actor creates a character so completely, he loses himself in the role. He becomes The Joker. Is this the same cute Australian from Home and Away? Casanova? A Knight's Tale? 10 Things I Hate About You?
Sadly, he isn't around to tell his tale from cute ozzie to villain. Every good villain is always out for some sort of moral quest... to test humanity. To play a game with the cards. Like any Shakespearean play, the story is already there, it is up to the cast to make the script come alive, to truly stand apart from all the other remakes that have come before it. This time Batman has truly done it. This film stands apart. It stands on its own. It lives forever. It is a testament not only to the cast but the crew - the director, the cinematographer, the filming techniques and graphic effects of our time.
Hold on to your seats folks! It's gonna be a 3 hour adrenalin blast straight from your youth into your
heart.