Derek Bodner’s Blog

Alright, so you may be wondering why I’m commenting on a movie released 7 months ago. It’s simple, really. I was so blown away leaving the theater that I couldn’t rationally and objectively rate the movie. The performance by Ledger and the overall character, from conception to execution, was so perfectly done that it completely overshadowed whatever shortcomings the movie may have had. Even if there were flaws, the sum of the movie added up to more than the individual parts.

So I waited. Waited until the movie came out on DVD. After watching it a few times…

I still leave at the end of the movie absolutely mesmerized.

There are going to be spoilers, so in the off-chance someone hasn’t yet seen the film, I’m going to put my thoughts in the “Read More” section. If you don’t want to be spoiled, don’t click below.

I have to start this off saying I have no bias towards Batman. I never read the comics growing up. My entire exposure to Batman is the previous movies. In fact, The Dark Knight has compelled me into picking up some of the Trade Paperbacks from the late 80′s and early 90′s when they re-did the character.

Sure, there were problems with the movie. Not really problems, per se, but things that could be improved upon. I thought the first five minutes of Harvey Dent were riddled with bad dialogue, and when watching it made me worried his character was going to be a disappointment. They ended up doing the fall of Harvey Dent well, but the first part of it (particularly the court room) was weak. “If you want to kill a public servant, Mr. Maroni, I recommend you buy American. ” C’mon.

I still don’t like the Rachel Dawes character. I think Maggie Gyllenhall is a significantly better actress than Katie Holmes, but I think the character overall was just shallow and weak. I’m not particularly sad to see her go.

I would have preferred to not have Two-Face die (or, at least apparently die). I think the fall of Harvey Dent was done well, but the reign of Two-Face should have been given more time. It was rushed.

In fact, overall I think the movie should have ended about 15 minutes earlier. The Joker locked up and in jail, carrying out his final act (forcing Batman to make a decision on who to save, Rachel or Harvey), with the movie ending when Rachel is blown up and Harvey scarred. I think that would have been a powerful ending, whereas the one they had was a little prolonged and forced. That being said, I think the hospital scene was possibly the best individual scene of the movie, so I can’t complain too much.

The moral dilemma of using the sonar I thought was forced. I could have done without that part.

That being said, these are all minor grievances, and greatly outweighed by the positives.

It’s been said by a lot of critics, but this really wasn’t a superhero movie. Sure, the good guy dressed up in a cape, and the bad guy had makeup, but that’s it. There were no special powers. There This was a movie more in the mold of Seven, Reservoir Dogs, and Silence of the Lambs than it was in the mold of Spiderman and Superman. I would argue the best scenes in the movie were the scenes filled with suspense rather than action. I would classify this more as action and suspense than superhero. It is based on a comic, so it will always be compared to those other movies, but it doesn’t have many similarities.

I think Michael Caine (Alfred), Gary Oldman (Gordon) and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) were all absolutely superb. Perfectly cast, and improved upon their previous performances. Eckhart (Harvey Dent) I was mixed on. I think most of the problems I had with him were based on the dialogue given to him, not his overall performance, which by the end of the movie I was won over on.

I think Bale is great as the conflicted Bruce Wayne trying to make himself appear aloof and self-centered to the public. I think his performance as Batman isn’t quite as good as it is in Bruce Wayne, although that may just be his growl that did annoy me.

And then, well, there’s the Joker.

I think his portrayal as more of a social experimenter trying to force anarchy works. I think it’s infinitely more interesting then just some mob guy trying to steal some money, a la the 1989 Joker played by Jack. It created a very compelling character that left you on the edge of your seat every scene he was in.

And, well, Ledger nailed it. I initially had some reservations about Ledger being cast in the role. Having not seen him in the role of a bad guy, and after seeing him in A Kinght’s Tale, I had a hard time picturing him as a psychopath. I was wrong.

I think the character was written and conceived well, but I also think Ledger nailed it. The facial expressions and mannerisms, the clicks and pauses in his speech, the the wandering of his eyes. Every little bit of it combined to create the perfect character. Not once did I ever look at the screen and see Heath Ledger. He was the Joker for the entire duration of the movie. Completely and utterly transformed into the character. Scary, unpredictable, and mesmerizing.

Take the well conceived character, add in the great writing of the character, and the superb performance, and you have one of the greatest villains of all time. The Joker stole every scene, left you on the edge of your seat every time he was on the screen, and completely transformed a movie that would have been “good” and “entertaining” into a classic. It was very much reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs, which would have been a good movie if not for the great villain that was created and depicted in the movie, which transformed it into a classic.

I brought up Iron Man because I see some very real similarities. Both superheros with no real powers, getting things done through technical weaponry and smarts. Both billionaire playboys compelled to do what they do because of personal tragedy. I relate Iron Man to Batman Begins. Fun, well done, but missing that something. For as exciting (and at times funny) as Iron Man was, it was just missing something. That something was a compelling villain. The difference between a well done, entertaining film and a classic.

I do think, if they do a 3rd Batman movie (and after this success, how could they not?), they were planning on having the Joker be a returning role. I do think, if they decided to, it’s still possible, especially with the amount of makeup Ledger wore, and how much he changed his voice. That being said, doing so would be skating on thin ice at this point, and have the potential for disaster. If the Joker has a role in any future Batman movies, I hope it’s more of a behind-the-scenes role than anything with major screen time.

In the end, this movie was more about the Joker than it was about Batman. He was the lead character in this film. And for a character with as much quality as the Joker, I think that’s a good thing. I questioned why they didn’t have Batman’s arch nemesis in Batman Begins, but now I’m very happy they didn’t. Having to fit in Batman’s origin story would have taken too much screen time away from the more deserving Joker.

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