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Ledger becomes legendary in ‘Dark Knight'

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This has been one of my favorite summers for movies in a long time. “WALL€E” and “Kung Fu Panda” make me believe good family films can happen. “Iron Man,” “The Visitor” and others also make me have hope. Like many others, I have waited for some time to see the late Heath Ledger's penultimate film. (Director Terry Gilliam's “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” is due out next year.) I looked forward to it even before his untimely death. Ledger's talent became obvious years ago and he was ill-treated when not awarded the Oscar for his role in “Brokeback Mountain.” While Christian Bale is hands-down the best Batman ever, it should be years before anyone attempts to compete with Ledger's Joker. His inclusion as the Joker in “The Dark Knight” makes this film exceptional, even more memorable and remarkable. Director Christopher Nolan gives us the best film of the summer and the year.

Certainly, “The Dark Knight” is yet another film in the Batman saga, but it plays out like a crime story - and a very good one at that - rather than just a superhero film. Nolan's follows up “Batman Begins” with a dark and brutal gangster epic. The complexity of the story mainly lies in its plethora of subplots. Gotham has fallen prey to the sinister forces of mobster evil, and its peacekeepers - at least the honest and credible ones -have their hands full. Some officials, however, aren't much different from the lawbreakers and murderers they supposedly seek to bring down. Interspersed in this tale of illegal and deadly dealings lies the complex stories of love, honor and loyalty.

The all-star cast provides near perfect performances from Morgan Freeman as weapons specialist Lucius Fox, struggling with Bruce Wayne's growing need for power to fight crime; a delightfully droll Michael Caine as Alfred, who struggles to keep Bruce's life and mind on the right path; and Bale, who is, as noted, a perfect fit as Batman. I did have a bit of an issue with this Batman voice, but I am sure it is all part of the disguise and I shan't be that petty.

We find Batman questioning his purpose in Gotham as he confronts the reality that Batman may not always be a necessary element to the city, especially when he meets the new DA (Aaron Eckhart), an honorable man who deeply loves his job, the city and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) - Wayne's former flame. Gyllenhaal is a more mature replacement for Katie Holmes and I actually preferred her character over Holmes'. The ever-impressive chameleon Gary Oldman reprises his role as Lt. James Gordon and along with Batman he works to fight crime, while others question Batman's motives or his necessity for that matter.

Nolan manages to correct all the wrongs (and there were not that many) of the first film and develops far more interesting and engaging characters and plots. With the addition of Ledger's Joker, Nolan creates the most horrific and shocking and insanely despicable rendition of the character ever. While Nolan is the driving force behind the film, Ledger gives heart and soul to the Joker and he is truly incredible in every sense. I feel sadness every time I think that this is almost the last time we'll see Ledger demonstrate his amazing talent as an actor. His Joker made my skin crawl as he subconsciously licked his grotesquely-scarred lips, slunk just enough for disturbing awkwardness and seethed his venomous dialogue. I cannot imagine anyone topping this performance and no one should try any time soon. He is the compilation of everything wicked, real or pretend - Charles Manson, Hannibal Lecter, and Norman Bates - and a far cry from Jack Nicholson's hammy performance and especially far from Mark Hamill's animated Joker and the colorfully cartoonish Cesar Romero. Nolan appears to have given Ledger free reign to create a purely evil, completely soulless (much like the great white shark in “Jaws”) serial killer for hire whose only purpose appears is to cause mayhem in Gotham City. I stand in awe of Ledger's talent.

Taking nothing away from Bales or Ledger, Aaron Eckhart and the revelation of the character called “Two-Face” is brilliant. Eckhart, as the conflicted district attorney, struggling with his own aggressive tendencies. However, while he constant tries to avoid bringing himself to the throes of violence and murder that the Joker seeks to inflict on Gotham City, the D.A. steals many scenes. His character is as complex as the other two leads - as is demonstrated in his dependence on a special coin which he uses as a means of unbiased decision making - honing out Two-Face and drawing a thin line between hero and pure maniac.

“The Dark Knight's” PG-13 rating should be heeded as many scenes are frightening and violent, but obviously not enough to garner an R rating, though I question this. Overall, Nolan's film, his stellar cast and Ledger's final performance tender a nearly flawless example of superhero cinema, offering up marvelous performances, a superior script, and impeccable direction. I haven't even touched on the visual effects that literally explode on the screen.

In all aspects, Nolan has nailed it and I am placing a resounding A+ in my gradebook. I cannot imagine how a sequel could ever measure up, but I say bring it on.

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