michael chambers review.

If the Dark Knight were truly a dark film, there'd be a lot more dead people in it. As it is, it's brimming with optimism, even more so than its Burton predecessor, which cascaded through its final 30 minutes like a coked-out Prince song, all style, no real depth... just like the decade that brought it to fruition. Nolan's Batman is a product of the times, a clear-headed sobered up post-9/11 truth-sayer. It's not a pessimist... simply a realist. If things appear, how should I put it, FUBAR... then that's the just the way it is. But it doesn't. Yes, some of the characters we love in this film die. Some appear to die. Some die even when they don't appear to. But isn't that life? What's dark about that? Death is necessary. Death is what makes life interesting. Every death means something in this film. Anid thank god for that. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie where someone's death had led to actually psychological consequences. People are actually affected by death in this film. I suppose filmgoers might be frightened by that, but frankly, I find that far more refreshing and life-affirming than if someone died, and everyone just shrugged and carried on. In Burton's Batman, the only death that changed anyone happened before the timeline of the film. Even the most insignificant death in TDK at least scares the living shit out of people. A museum full of people die in Batman, within a week, the entire town is cheering on the murderer in hopes of bagging some dough. That's fucking dark. That's fucking cynical as holy hell. In TDK, the main villain even waits for the hospital to be evacuated before blowing it up. It seems far more fun for the guy to let be frightened than to let 'em be dead. That may be truly fucked in the head, but at least it gives you a way out. I honestly feel like I should see the film a few more times. It's that good. It needs digesting. That's its main fault. For a 150 minute film, it moves too quickly. Nolan could've slowed some scenes down, given us room to breathe and made the film 3 hours long. The last 20 minutes feel rushed and crammed together. I would've liked more scenes with Gordon and his family, particularly his wife. I would've liked more scenes with Dent. What did the guy do when he was by himself? When he was alone with Rachel? (they're never alone in the film... they seem to catch each other in wisps between business; how does Dent draw any conclusions about their relationship with that kind of interaction? What did they do when the opera got cancelled, for instance?) Remarkably enough, I think what we have with The Joker and Batman/Bruce Wayne is what we have. I feel that they are men obsessed. Their entire lives are what we see. If Bruce has any quiet moments, he's probably stalking Rachel...perhaps a quick scene of him actually watching Rachel and Dent fall in love... perhaps a moment where this dawns on him and he seems caught in the middle of a motivation. As for the Joker, I think his most revealing and perfect moment is in the last five minutes we see him. Will the character have an arc? A moment of humanity later on, based on what the good people of Gotham have demonstrated? Will he fight it? Or will he simply focus it... with someone who shares his interests (Harley Quinn, anyone?). The film leaves too many thoughts and too many choices, and not just about the film itself, but about us and ourselves, and that's what makes it a great film. It's cerebral like that. We may question the film, we may question the filmmaker... but most importantly, we question ourselves.