In Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan gave us the most realistic and, at the same time, the most faithful-to-comic-book representation of Batman yet - or of any comic book hero, for that matter (at least until Iron Man). It is a great story of origins, as well as of character. The film is full of quotes that tell you who Batman is and what he is about: such as Alfred's "Why do we fall - so we can learn to pick ourselves up;" or Rachel's "It's not who you are underneath - it's what you do that defines you," which Batman later repeats about himself; or Batman's "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you," which he speaks to Liam Neeson's character right before his demise. Batman Begins is a well-defined story about a well-defined character that is both uplifting and meaningful.

I also think Christian Bale is the definitive Batman. Batman is about the costume, the "muscle," the eyes, the mouth and the voice. Christian Bale has all of that. Plus, he makes a great Bruce Wayne and has the best Alfred you could possibly ask for - Michael Caine; the perfect Rachel to be sweet on - Katie Holmes; a terrific Jim Gordon to work with - Gary Oldman; and the added character of Lucius Fox, played wonderfully by Morgan Freeman. Wayne Manor and the Batcave are both perfect. Only the Batmobile may disappoint some die-hard fans because it doesn't look like the Batmobile - but it is fun. You've got the perfect nemesis in Liam Neeson, and the perfect Scarecrow in Cillian Murphy. Everything is perfect. I gave the film 5 out of 5 stars.

Now enter The Dark Knight.

Why is it that directors and producers think Batman is about the villains - it's not. They are merely the foils off which Batman plays. Tim Burton's series featured one villain in the first film - the Joker, played wonderfully by Jack Nicholson. Then he started stacking villains and super heroes, so that, by the end of the series, there was very little room left for Batman. In the fourth film, Batman And Robin, for which Burton was not actually responsible - he was canned as director after Batman Returns, and as producer after Batman Forever - there was Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and a host of others. Dark Knight has the Joker and Two-Face, and that's one too many, because it adds an additional 45 minutes to the film that kills the momentum and has the audience squirming in their seats. Dark Knight should just have been about Batman and his attempts to defeat the Joker.

The Joker is supposed to be funny, in a warped sort of way. In Dark Knight, he is not, nor does he even try to be. So, really, it is not the Joker but a Joker-like character that appears in the film. Since Nolan wrote the script, he can be blamed for that. He doesn't seem to understand the Joker. Heath Ledger is playing a psychopath wearing bad make-up. That is not who the Joker is. Jack Nicholson had a far better take on the Joker, more reflective of the DC Comics character.

Heath Ledger was not a great actor. But the fact that he is dead, and died at the end of this filming - probably because of the strain placed on him playing the Joker - makes him something of a curiosity. That, in my opinion, is the only reason Dark Knight is doing as well as it is at the box office and with critics. Once the DVD comes out, I seriously doubt if it will sell as well as Batman Begins because, by then, people will have had time to think about it. It's not a great film. It is a good film, but it has some major problems - besides the length, which is almost three hours. What does Ledger actually do in Dark Knight that could be interpreted as acting other than lick his lips so many times that it becomes annoying? He's playing a crazy man. How hard is that? Mel Gibson made a career out of playing crazy people. It's not that difficult. The Joker character should be more than that.

Batman Begins was a straight-forward story about origins and character, and was full of memorable quotes. The Dark Knight is a convoluted story about what we can become if we focus too long on darkness. Duh. The only memorable quote from the film is Harvey Dent's comment that is later taken up by Batman: "You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Dent actually fulfills his own prophecy, but Batman, luckily, does not. But it's an idiotic quote that history has easily disproved. And that is enough to hang a plot on? At the end of the film, when Two-Face has been stopped and Commissioner Gordon is trying to explain to his son, and to us, what has just happened, it is a tangled mess of meaningless ideas that is drowned out by the blaring music. Nolan dug himself into a hole and he could not, for the life of him, explain his way out of it.

In addition to the convoluted story and web of empty themes, the actress playing Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a poor and homely substitute for Katie Holmes. One wonders what Nolan and his casting director were thinking - even though she gets killed off, which is some consolation. I guess that opens the door for Catwoman. Everyone else in the cast is good; but Nolan gave them less to work with this time around than he did previously. Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent, who later becomes Two-Face, is the second major focus of the film after the Joker. What a mistake to have two scene-stealers in the same film, so that Christian Bale as Batman is really playing third fiddle.

Here's a clue as to how good Dark Knight is as compared to Batman Begins: when I came out of Batman Begins, people were excited and raving to each other about the film, as if they had been to a wedding or a sporting event. I watched their faces as they came out of Dark Knight: they were solemn and quiet, as if they had been to a funeral. That tells me a lot. Something died in Dark Knight. Was it the series? I'm not looking forward to the third film because I have a good idea what is going to happen. (I hear Bale has a three-film contract, so it is inevitable.) If Nolan's third film is as stacked against Batman as this one was, if it is as convoluted, if the themes are as meaningless and the story as empty, there will be no dead actor to draw people to the box office - hopefully. Nolan is going to have to do some soul-searching, in my opinion, if he is going to recapture the magic of Batman Begins.



Waitsel Smith, August 19, 2008

Text © 2008 Waitsel Smith. Images © 2008 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.