Stars:
***
Rating: PG-13 for
language, action violence and mature themes
Run
Time: 2
hours, 32 minutes
Christopher
Nolan crafts a worthy successor to his temperamental classic “Batman Begins”.
Finally a
Caped Crusader who merits a repeat performance; Christian Bale reprising his
role as Gotham’s ultimate vigilante, a conflicted superhero who moonlights as
suave billionaire Bruce Wayne. Or is it the other way around? Having dispensed
with Wayne’s moody origins in Round One (not to mention dispatching archenemy
The Scarecrow) Nolan’s Batman is now faced with a more diabolical fiend in the
form of The Joker (Heath Ledger).
The Joker
isn’t in it for the money nor is he necessarily seeking control of Gotham. He’s
just a twisted sicko who wants to watch the world burn.
And burn it
does while the clown-faced Joker insinuates his evil into the Gotham mob (led
by mouth o’ marbles Eric Roberts) and a Hong Kong crime organization while
Gotham’s shining star (Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent) puts
baddies behind bars and keeps his head above water. He’s the Great White Hope,
awash with the glow of professional success and a flush of affection for
Wayne’s secret love Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal in Mrs. Tom Cruise’s roll).
But Dent
alone can’t control the axis of evil the Joker has fashioned, seeking the help
of loyal Gothamites Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Dawes, and of course Batman
himself. Who in turn depends on trusty butler Alfred (dry as a martini Michael
Caine) and genius inventor Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) to maintain his murky
masquerade.
The action
pulsates with adrenaline, sadistically stylized with vanguard graphics and
things that go boom in the night. The film’s major action sequences are lensed
with IMAX cameras; large, looming and overpowering to a fault. Perhaps some streamlining
is in order; a 30-minute trim would make for a smoother ride.
Can’t fault
the performances; each and every one keenly observed. “Knight” invokes the DC
Comics vibe and leaves the more penetrating character development on the
cutting room floor, rendering the mix a bit popcorn if you will. Bale knows his
Batman inside and out; a black glove fit. Gyllenhaal shimmers, Oldman is aces
and Eckhart perfectly milquetoast as the ubiquitous brown-noser but as you’ve
undoubtedly heard the show belongs to Ledger; malevolently mischievous and
psychologically toxic.
The buzz is
huge and frankly it gets in the way. Let me be the judge of Ledger’s notorious
posturing and whether or not he deserves a posthumous Oscar for his exaggerated
tomfoolery.
Ambitious,
flawed and erratically visionary, Batman is back.