THE GREATEST 200 MOVIES EVER MADE continues with 122, THE DARK KNIGHT. (2008). “Why so serioussss?”, hisses the Joker as he flashes his retarded grin. This is after committing several murders, throwing Gotham City into disarray and before trying to force two boatloads of people to choose which one of the groups should perish first. It’s easy to see why people fail to laugh at his antics. In the final sequence of the first film of this franchise, Batman Begins (2005), it was revealed that the crimefighter’s next enemy would be the Joker. No one is as dangerous as a person who, in Alfred’s (Michael Caine) words, has no other motive but to “watch the world burn”. He has balls, this new fiend. The Joker (Heath Ledger), a seemingly demented criminal with a white-painted, scarred face and a blood-red grin, hits a bank operated by the Mafia and steals a huge sum of money. At the same time, District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) prepares to deliver a serious blow against the mob organization, but the Chinese leader of it transfers its money to Hong Kong. The police, under Jim Gordon’s (Gary Oldman) leadership, secretly agree to let Batman (Christian Bale) go to the Chinese metropolis and kidnap the mobster. The Mafia feels the need to get rid of the caped crusader and reluctantly hire the Joker to do it; he has after all shown his credentials. The Joker goes on a killing spree, terminating a judge and the police commissioner, but fails to murder Dent; he also tells Gotham City that if Batman doesn’t turn himself in the mayhem will continue. After a disastrous event with more victims, Bruce Wayne decides to give up and let the Joker have it his way, but he hasn’t counted on Dent’s plan to sacrifice himself… or the Joker’s selfish need to continue fighting the Bat in the future. Ledger’s final, complete performance is a tour de force. Some might say that his death has caused critics to overreact, but his brilliance was obvious even in his first trailer, shown before he died. He is virtually unrecognizable; it’s not just the dirty, messy, intimidating make-up, but his voice has a deliciously dark drawl and the way he moves (sort of hunched) is completely different from his other performances. He’s the true star, the definitive Joker, and the fact that the character commits atrocities only for the thrill of the game makes him scarier. The story of how the ultimate good guy, Harvey Dent, is turned into another crazed villain, Two-Face, is one of the strongest parts of the story; when a hero falls, he falls very hard. But people need the perception of heroism, something to believe in, and perhaps a true hero’s role is sometimes to step back and take the part of a scapegoat for the good of the collective. These thoughts are brilliantly realized by director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan in their script. The film is a visual feast for those with a bleak mind; Gotham has never been a city one would like to spend a vacation, but the gothic look fits the brutality of the story. The action sequences are magnificent and fanboys will enjoy the new Batpod; the masculine style of the film is the same as in the original, militaristic and bombastic. Two quibbles; the story loses its grip on you as it nears the end, going on a bit too long… and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s character should have been richer considering its significance to the story. There is something poetic about an actor delivering perhaps the finest performance of his career and then dying, as if his work was done and that was it. Ledger left us much too soon, but his crazy clown is the crowning achievement of the 28-year-old’s impressive career.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 14:41:40 +0000
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