SECOND HELPINGS: The Dark Knight (2008)

Not much has changed since my original assessment of this film, though I don’t feel the need to be as wordy this time around. My original review for this film is probably one of the worst I’ve ever written because it rambled. This second go around will be much more terse and to the point.

What’s still good about this film? I like the move away from a comic-book accented Gotham City. Gotham looks like a real major city, making the carnage and terror unleashed by the Joker seem more palpable. I also still enjoy the theme of escalation and how Bruce Wayne is troubled by it. He has to reckon with the Joker’s rules of engagement without losing too much of himself. Heady stuff for a comic book flick.

And of course, Heath Ledger steals the show as the Joker. I cannot praise the decision enough to keep the character as an enigma. In this politically correct era of trying to understand bad guys, The Dark Knight’s Joker is a breath of fresh air. There can be no justification for his antisocial tendencies or his sociopathic nature, so none is given. Sometimes you have to accept evil as evil, and the late Heath Ledger goes all out to embody an almost perfect evil.

What still doesn’t work for this film? It is more than just a little unbelievable for the Joker to plan so far ahead for some of the things he does. Anything that he does not seem to have a contingency plan for goes perfectly for him out of sheer luck or coincidence. If you stop and think about it all after the credits roll, one or two strokes of luck the other way would have cut this film short in any number of places.

There is no denying the power of Heath Ledger's performance though. Christian Bale does some fine work as well but the success of Batman films are usually determined by the villain. Fortunately for everyone involved, this version of the Joker is the best Batman film villain to date. There is not enough ludicrousness in the Joker’s ability to plan to undermine The Dark Knight’s strengths. My original rating stands because you can pick this movie apart if you really want to get down to brass tacks.

Original Rating: 4 out of 5

New Rating: 4 out of 5