The Dark Knight is the second movie in the most recent series on the adaptation of DC comics’ crime fighting vigilante, Batman. The Batman has always been an intriguing personality given that, unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superpowers. He relies on technology, theatricality, extreme martial arts skills, an indomitable will and intimidation in his relentless war on crime; the result of an oath he took since he witnessed his parents being murdered, as a young child. He is much more than a vigilante; a man of ethics who follows a strict code of conduct. All of this somehow renders an air of credibility to the existence of such a man. Christian Bale does justice to this character of Bruce Wayne/Batman with his sharp acting skills and a good understanding of mixed martial arts combat.
The dark series:
Christopher Nolan picks up right from where he left in the first movie of this series, Batman Begins. In comparison to the previous series of movies on The Bat, this series is distinctively much darker, choosing to be much more than the picturization of the intrepid adventures of a comic book superhero. Nolan pits Batman against the milieu of a decadent Gotham City, rendered hollow by the evils of men. Corruption runs in the veins of the city and it was considered to be a criminal’s haven, that is, until Bruce Wayne decided to don the Bat outfit. We can correlate Gotham to any modern day city at the pinnacle of its evolution as a society. The rich get richer and the poor are downtrodden and this at times blurs out the line between morality and immorality for some. The defining scenes of this movie are mostly during the night or in the dark, which lends credibility to the storyline and creates a sense of mysticism around the character of Batman. However, what makes this film truly unique and a classic is the epic portrayal of the character of The Joker by Heath Ledger. This very unpredictable character stands out amongst all other brilliant performances which we see in this movie.
The Joker:
The previous portrayal of this character, by the great Jack Nicholson, was of that of a raving lunatic who derived pleasure out of wreaking havoc. Heath Ledger holds on to the insanity part of it and goes on to add even darker shades to the Joker, hence morphing him into a monster concealed within the body of a man. This Joker is extremely dark, “chaotic”, schizophrenic and absolutely void of any empathy. What would please him the most is to see perfectly sane people, tear each other up, out of the fear that he instills in their hearts. Always bent on having the last laugh, the Joker’s definitive dialogue “Why so serious” would ring in the ears of every person who has had the good fortune of watching one of the best portrayals of an antagonist. The Joker is unpredictable and hence, extremely dangerous. As the screenplay suggests, he is a natural schemer, deriving pleasure out of the fatal “games” that he plays with others. He plays on the human mind and tries to induce chaos into the perfectly balanced mediocrity that he feels life is. According to him, “madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.” He believes that the so-called civilized society puts up a charade and that “their morals and codes are like a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. When the chips are down, they’ll eat each other”. He is however proved wrong by the people of Gotham. In the sequence wherein, both the steamers are rigged with explosives, people in both the boats refuse to blow the other one up. Humanity triumphs over chaos and the Joker’s schemes are thwarted by the Batman. This movie, however, throws no light on the origin of the Joker; it depicts his rise to power and subsequent defeat at the hands of the Batman.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face:
Aaron Eckhart was amazing in his portrayal of Harvey Dent, the smart, ravishing, dedicated and most importantly, honest District Attorney of Gotham City. He rises to fame by eradicating a number of criminals from the streets of Gotham and gets them behind bars. The various drug lords and mafia of the city are scared of his prowess. What makes him even more invulnerable is the fact that he is honest and is relentless in his pursuit of obliterating crime from the streets of Gotham. The city's populace looks up to him and unlike the Batman, he is not intimidating and people can approach him without the slightest hints of trepidation. He truly is the 'angel in the shining armour' sent to rescue Gotham from its plight.
Two-Face is Harvey Dent's alter-ego. A sinister man who is born of a murky and sinister deed. Batman manages to save Harvey right after the Joker had rigged him with explosives. However, in the aftermath of this event, Harvey's face is burnt on one side (thus, lending him the name Two-Face), he loses his credibility and his girl, Rachael Dawes, who is also a very close friend of Bruce Wayne and his love interest. The Joker meets him in the hospital, while he is recuperating from his injuries and tries to explain to him that even the best of men fall under adverse conditions. Harvey loses most of his sanity and turns into a vigilante, trying to right the wrong. He makes his decisions on the basis of the results yielded by the toss of a coin. He starts calling himself Two-Face and sets out to mete justice to those who had failed to save his fiancee. He inculpates the Batman and Commissioner Gordon for her murder.
The Two-Face is a raving lunatic whose origin is extremely tragic. However, his deeds cannot be condoned as he takes the law into his own hands. Moreover, he falsely implicates the wrong people for the devastation that has taken all the goodness out of the righteous person he once was. He is schizophrenic and has multiple personality disorders along with a temper that is as feisty and unpredictable as the stormy seas. In contrast to Harvey, his decision making is extremely flawed. He is a dangerous criminal, the kinds of which Harvey Dent once thoroughly despised.
The dark series:
Christopher Nolan picks up right from where he left in the first movie of this series, Batman Begins. In comparison to the previous series of movies on The Bat, this series is distinctively much darker, choosing to be much more than the picturization of the intrepid adventures of a comic book superhero. Nolan pits Batman against the milieu of a decadent Gotham City, rendered hollow by the evils of men. Corruption runs in the veins of the city and it was considered to be a criminal’s haven, that is, until Bruce Wayne decided to don the Bat outfit. We can correlate Gotham to any modern day city at the pinnacle of its evolution as a society. The rich get richer and the poor are downtrodden and this at times blurs out the line between morality and immorality for some. The defining scenes of this movie are mostly during the night or in the dark, which lends credibility to the storyline and creates a sense of mysticism around the character of Batman. However, what makes this film truly unique and a classic is the epic portrayal of the character of The Joker by Heath Ledger. This very unpredictable character stands out amongst all other brilliant performances which we see in this movie.
The Joker:
The previous portrayal of this character, by the great Jack Nicholson, was of that of a raving lunatic who derived pleasure out of wreaking havoc. Heath Ledger holds on to the insanity part of it and goes on to add even darker shades to the Joker, hence morphing him into a monster concealed within the body of a man. This Joker is extremely dark, “chaotic”, schizophrenic and absolutely void of any empathy. What would please him the most is to see perfectly sane people, tear each other up, out of the fear that he instills in their hearts. Always bent on having the last laugh, the Joker’s definitive dialogue “Why so serious” would ring in the ears of every person who has had the good fortune of watching one of the best portrayals of an antagonist. The Joker is unpredictable and hence, extremely dangerous. As the screenplay suggests, he is a natural schemer, deriving pleasure out of the fatal “games” that he plays with others. He plays on the human mind and tries to induce chaos into the perfectly balanced mediocrity that he feels life is. According to him, “madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.” He believes that the so-called civilized society puts up a charade and that “their morals and codes are like a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. When the chips are down, they’ll eat each other”. He is however proved wrong by the people of Gotham. In the sequence wherein, both the steamers are rigged with explosives, people in both the boats refuse to blow the other one up. Humanity triumphs over chaos and the Joker’s schemes are thwarted by the Batman. This movie, however, throws no light on the origin of the Joker; it depicts his rise to power and subsequent defeat at the hands of the Batman.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face:
Aaron Eckhart was amazing in his portrayal of Harvey Dent, the smart, ravishing, dedicated and most importantly, honest District Attorney of Gotham City. He rises to fame by eradicating a number of criminals from the streets of Gotham and gets them behind bars. The various drug lords and mafia of the city are scared of his prowess. What makes him even more invulnerable is the fact that he is honest and is relentless in his pursuit of obliterating crime from the streets of Gotham. The city's populace looks up to him and unlike the Batman, he is not intimidating and people can approach him without the slightest hints of trepidation. He truly is the 'angel in the shining armour' sent to rescue Gotham from its plight.
Two-Face is Harvey Dent's alter-ego. A sinister man who is born of a murky and sinister deed. Batman manages to save Harvey right after the Joker had rigged him with explosives. However, in the aftermath of this event, Harvey's face is burnt on one side (thus, lending him the name Two-Face), he loses his credibility and his girl, Rachael Dawes, who is also a very close friend of Bruce Wayne and his love interest. The Joker meets him in the hospital, while he is recuperating from his injuries and tries to explain to him that even the best of men fall under adverse conditions. Harvey loses most of his sanity and turns into a vigilante, trying to right the wrong. He makes his decisions on the basis of the results yielded by the toss of a coin. He starts calling himself Two-Face and sets out to mete justice to those who had failed to save his fiancee. He inculpates the Batman and Commissioner Gordon for her murder.
The Two-Face is a raving lunatic whose origin is extremely tragic. However, his deeds cannot be condoned as he takes the law into his own hands. Moreover, he falsely implicates the wrong people for the devastation that has taken all the goodness out of the righteous person he once was. He is schizophrenic and has multiple personality disorders along with a temper that is as feisty and unpredictable as the stormy seas. In contrast to Harvey, his decision making is extremely flawed. He is a dangerous criminal, the kinds of which Harvey Dent once thoroughly despised.
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