The Dark Knight

Typical. That is what I would call my reaction to one of my favorite movies of the year. It was dark and foreboding and ugly at times but in the end it was Christopher Nolan doing what he does best: producing intriguing crime drama. Some will walk away with a sense that this strong epitaph for one of the world's most versatile actors, Heath Ledger, was a fitting end to what was so dark a life. Instead, let us not mire this in focuses of death and loss but use this as a celebration of what film can be.

This movie certainly attains the trappings of many noir films. In itself the movie performs a feat in changing a simple superhero film into a study in the human condition. This movie is less about Batman the icon and more about the world he lives in. What kind of world needs (and in a sense creates) creatures like Batman? What kind of world creates villains with the cold ferocity of The Joker? Nolan's raises questions and elevates beyond the juvenile forms presented in other films of this genre. While X-Men 2 and Spider-Man 1 and 2 give us glimpses of what superheroes can be to the cinema goer it is in The Dark Knight that the vision is fully realized.

I am all for more films taking their notes from modern psychology and even the graphic storytelling renaissance of the early '80's. It is for this reason that we can celebrate. No more vinyl cut out heroes to spend our money on. Instead we get quality film that asks honesty of the viewers and wraps itself in the frame of an action thriller. Sure, with Jack Nicholson, we all wanted to know where he gets those wonderful toys. This time around we wonder at the depths a man has to go to find the brokenness of all the lead characters.

Kudos to Nolan and his team. This is a masterpiece in cinema.

Jack