The Year Of The Dark Knight, Pt. 1

2008 was an important year in the world. The Russians attacked Georgia, the economic crisis took the world by storm, and Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected president of the United States. But all this pales in comparison to what happened in the world of comics, and one comic book character in particular: Batman.

This year was a big one for the Caped Crusader. Almost 70 years after the character first appeared in Detective Comics # 27, we saw the release of the most successful comic book movie ever, and second highest-grossing film of all time, The Dark Knight. Breaking box-office records and making lots of critics' top ten lists, the film is very likely to receive a well-earned Oscar nomination, not only for Best Picture, but for the late Heath Ledger in his final performance.

In the comic medium as well, the Batman mythology has gone through its biggest upheaval since Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns in Grant Morrison's epic Batman R.I.P. story arc.

I would argue that both The Dark Knight and R.I.P. succeed in altering our understanding of the Batman. Both are also highly enjoyable works of art that go beyond their respective mediums to provide us more than just escapist entertainment. Neither is perfect of course. But given the scope of what they were undertaking, I think it's fair to say that they have changed the way we look at Batman for the better.



I'll start by saying that my opinion of The Dark Knight has been shaped by many factors. I am of course subject to the same influences as everyone else, and I acknowledge that I read many a film review of this movie, and no doubt some of what I read slipped into my sub-conscious. Therefore, what I write may seem unoriginal and redundant.

I should also point out that I am a Batman nerd, and it's hard to divorce my own bias towards the character, making this a less than objective analysis. That's not to say I'm completely blind of course. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin will always be shit movies. But I have such a strong love for The Dark Knight, because... well, I think... because... it's just so fucking cool! Alright, that's not a good criticism, I know. But it's got so much going for it.

Let's start with Heath Ledger. He's not only got the laugh, the voice, and the sheer intensity that defines the Joker, what I liked about his performance is his posture (and his neat trick with pencils). The way he arches his shoulders, they're almost up to his ears. Imagine walking around as tense as that 24 hours a day? It would drive anyone insane. It's partly due to this physicality that makes Ledger's performance such a treat to watch and separates him from the more theatrical, over-the-top Joker played by Cesar Romero and I'd wager he's got the edge on Jack Nicholson too (he ties with Mark Hamil, however). He could have hammed it up and been completely goofy, and people probably would've accepted it, but instead he plays the Joker closer to how he's portrayed in the comic - completely on the edge at all times. Imagine someone diagnosed with every mental disorder known to man (and some yet to be discovered) - a man so devoid of reason and rationality that his existence seems almost irrational and makes us wonder what chaotic world spawned such a devilish creature - that's the Joker in a nutshell, and Ledger captures it brilliantly.

I also really liked the order-vs-chaos element that underlies the movie. Rather than just be a battle between superhero and supervillain, The Dark Knight goes beyond such narrow constraints and presents us with characters who question what they're fighting for and against. The Joker reveals this in a great scene where he visits Harvey Dent in the hospital. His presence in Gotham isn't to rob the city blind, but to remind them how pathetic their attempts to impose order really are. "Introduce a little anarchy, upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos."

The Dark Knight also raises the question: to what lengths are we willing to go to stop such a madman? In order to stop the Joker, and crime in general, Batman breaks civil liberties, uses excessive violence, and conducts his own "war on terror" if you will. And the police and city tolerate it because it appears to be working. But how far are we willing to go to achieve security and at what price? The film isn't just echoing our own society's paranoia over national security and the challenge to civil liberties, it's also challenging us to be better. The final act after all sees the city turn against Batman, casting him as the villain in all this. No longer with Gotham tolerate the actions of a vigilante.

I like it when films can go beyond the strict confines of good vs. evil to actually question the morality and humanity of their characters, to address social and political themes, and at the same time provide us with an excellent story that manages to entertain as well as enlighten us. Most Hollywood action movies present their heroes in such black and white terms, and comic book movies have been no exception. Here we see good guys who aren't sure if what they're doing is right, and aren't even certain that it will have an impact. At the end of the film, it felt to me at least that the good guys lost to a certain extent. The Joker may have been captured, but is it really fair to say that good triumphed over evil?

The Dark Knight isn't a perfect film. A few critics, like the Slate.com ladies, didn't buy into the chaos theme. My own problem with the movie was Christian Bale's performance as Batman, which sounded like someone with a lisp doing a bad Darth Vader impression. There's also one or two continuity errors that deter it from being a perfect movie. But I'm willing to look past these flaws largely because the rest of the film is so damn good.

There's no question that The Dark Knight exceeded my expectations, but I didn't know how until I realized how much it changed the way I viewed the character. I used to view Batman through a very narrow prism - one man's fight on crime. But after watching this movie, I realized that the role  of Batman is far more complicated and troubling than simply someone dressing up in a cool costume, possessing all kinds of cool gadgets and having a wicked rogues gallery. It wasn't until I saw this movie, and its more realistic portrait of what a Batman might actually be like, that I grew to appreciate him even more. And it wasn't until reading Grant Morrison's Batman R.I.P. that I saw just how complicated it could actually get.

To Be Continued...

Next Week: The Year Of The Dark Knight, Part 2