George Clooney, Joel Schumacher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Alicia Silverstone, and Chris O’Donnell almost killed Batman. Val Kilmer was in on it, too.
Tim Burton and Michael Keaton did their best, and it was pretty good.
Nobody really got it right, though. Not like the epic graphic novels of Frank Miller and others—harrowing tales of a man facing his darkest fears, and those of the criminally insane, to bring peace to Gotham City. Stories about a billionaire playboy who must pay a terrible price for doing what is right.
After nearly a decade of Hollywood silence, Batman seemed poised to die out of the cinema. The final blow came in 2004 with the abysmal Catwoman. Thanks a lot, Halle Berry.
But superheroes never die, they just go underground to regain strength.
The Dark Knight—the first piece of American Bat-cinema not to include the word “Batman”—is the Caped Crusader’s great return, and the best comic-inspired film to date. We can thank director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) first and foremost for honoring the myth and legend of Batman so faithfully. We can also thank Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Micheal Caine, and Gary Oldman for stunning performances.
To be fair, 2005’s excellent Batman Begins—also directed by Nolan and starring Bale—was Batman’s actual comeback, but that film focused on alter ego Bruce Wayne’s past. By the time he put on the suit, the movie was almost over.
The Dark Knight begins in a new Gotham, finally on the verge of peace. Batman has the mob on the run, district attorney Harvey Dent is putting away criminals by the dozens, and it seems Bruce Wayne might be able to retire someday. Then a scarred psycho, known only as the Joker, offers to kill Batman in exchange for half of the mob’s savings. Most of the movie revolves around the Joker’s methods for eliminating Batman (namely, demanding Batman expose his true identity to halt a slew of killings) and the moral dilemmas it creates for Wayne, the police, and the citizens of Gotham.
The Dark Knight is a world apart from the colorful funfest we’ve come to expect from comic movies. It looks more like an art-house film than a summer blockbuster about a guy in a rubber suit chasing down goons in clown masks. Gotham feels like a real city, struggling to cope with the surreality of a brutal mob, a vigilante dressed like a bat, and a green-haired sociopath on the loose.
Christian Bale balances the roles of public and private Bruce Wayne seamlessly, and his Batman is a gravely, calculating badass. The best Masked Manhunter yet.
Heath Ledger’s Joker was getting hyped-up long before his tragic death several weeks after The Dark Knight wrapped production. The hype was well warranted. Ledger is terrifying, captivating, funny, and ultimately heartbreaking. That he can’t reprise the role or accept his golden statue casts a pale over the experience. Easily one of the greatest villains on film.
As a side note, Jack Nicholson was reportedly furious he wasn’t consulted on the role. Nolan wanted a completely different approach to Nicholson and Tim Burton’s Joker from 1989’s Batman. A rumor circulating now, which will no doubt become cinema legend, is that Ledger’s exploration of the Joker’s psyche contributed to his death by accidental overdose of painkillers and anti-depressants. When told of Ledger’s death by reporters on the street, Nicholson simply replied, “I warned him.”
