I'll start by saying that although I love this movie, I am not one of these people that believes it is the be all and end all, or that it is infallible. What Nolan and co do right renders what they do wrong pretty insignificant imo, but that doesn't mean the movie doesn't have it's share of problems - nor that I won't be discussing them. I won't, however, be going into the actual plot in too much detail as I'm fairly certain we all know the story. I'm also not going to be discussing the differences between the movie and the comics, how faithful it is etc. These things vary in how annoyed they make people, if they even bother em at all so I feel it's something best debated in the comments section.
Like all CBMs not based on a specific graphic novel or story arc,
TDK is a mish-mash of plot lines and character incarnations, along with some original input from David Goyer, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan. At it's very core the story they craft brilliantly weaves the lives of three "good" men together, holding up a mirror to each one and paralleling their relationships with each other. What they are willing to do and unwilling to do in the face of the things that frighten them the most. Of course the fourth man is the one holding the mirror, convinced that the only thing separating these men and himself is "a little push". Doesn't sound like your typical CBM does it? And it isn't. Nolan's biggest triumph here is giving us a layered, thought provoking drama while at the same time delivering a kick-ass Batman flick.
Reprising their roles from
Batman Begins are Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. And while they are all great, the movie really belongs to two new additions: Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and Heath Legder as The Joker. This iconic villain is played as an "agent of chaos". The psychopathic, unfeeling murderer portrayed in the best comic appearances. There is a little from the character's very first appearances, some Jeff Loeb's
The Long Halloween and with his "multiple choice past" he evokes Alan Moore's
The Killing Joke. Ledger's performance has been described as "overrated", partially because the actor tragically died before the film's release, giving way to the opinion that he is being somehow overly praised for his work. This is complete and utter horse shit. Had Ledger lived, emigrated, joined the Foreign Legion, become a Scientologist..it remains an outstanding performance. But unfortunately he does tend to overshadow Eckhart's turn as Dent (the man who would be Two-Face), who imo is just as good playing what is probably a more difficult role. Dent is the heart of the story, and when things go bad we are still rooting for him to see sense, even as he holds a gun to a child's head. The only real weak link in the cast is Maggie Gyllanhaal, replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. She's not bad, in fact she is more than competent, simply miscast. Her role is also underwritten which does her no favors.
Nolan has been accused of not being a great action director but aside from needing a bit of work on his hand to hand choreography, I really don't get that criticism. He delivers some great set pieces here, the most memorable being an explosive car chase through the streets of Gotham, which brilliantly introduces us to the Batpod. Nolan also pushes that PG13 boundary quite a bit. Although he is forced to shy away from the more gruesome stuff (The Joker's murder of Gambol suffers from an out of place cutaway), he still keeps things as jet black as possible. The story moves along at a great pace right up until Dent becomes Two Face. Here is where Nolan really could have shaved off 20 mins or so as the movie seems to be struggling for an ending at this point. The final "bombs on the boats" scene is exciting, but feels a bit tacked on and unnecessary. We are also robbed of a real final showdown between Batman and The Joker. Their scene in the interrogation room is probably one of the greatest there is, but we still needed a proper physical confrontation that didn't involve The Joker whacking Bats with an iron bar while his sonar cowl malfunctions. Then there is Bale's "Batvoice". Honestly for most of the scenes it's used in I found it fine, even effective at times ,but there is no doubt he goes overboard now and again. Something I hope is reigned in in
TDKR.
Just like The Joker's line to Batman in the movie it has been said that
TDK "changed things forever" and from one perspective it really did. Whether you like the film or you don't, it is undeniable that Nolan proved to critics and non comic book fan audiences that a CBM can break free of the barriers that so many directors and studios seem to think belong in place with these movies. Perfect? Course not, nothing is. But the most impressive example of a comic book based movie I have seen so far without a doubt. There, I got through the review without using the word "Nolanite" once! Ah well, I'm sure it will pop up once or twice in the comments section eh?