The Dark Knight. I was like yeah, it’s just a superhero film, could be good (Ironman), mediocre (Hellboy), or just plain bad (Silver Surfer), but probably still a popcorn movie, which was why I waited a full 10 days before catching this one. Besides, I wasn’t really impressed with Batman Begins either. As the movie played out, I realized how wrong I was. Simply put, it was a stunning masterpiece.
A straightforward look at the film would be: the Joker single-handedly turns Gotham City into a city of carnage and destruction, with batman doing his absolutely best to counter the crazy antics. Yes, the Joker achieves this (almost) all by himself, but all the disorder and chaos in the city is executed and manifested in a slow and believable fashion, as he sets up twisted and insane predicaments for the city to deal with. Each situation is a brilliant set-piece, which challenges the very morals of those involved. Human essence is defined and explored, as we see how the best and worst can be brought out of people, given the prevailing circumstances. As a friend put it, this installment was not so much an action film, but more of an intellectual thriller, reminiscent of the popular Deathnote manga, albeit on a smaller scale. No need for flashy explosions and gadgetry (in fact, Batman hardly uses his gadgets); the masterful plot (and its twists) awes and captivates. Factor in Heath Ledger’s superb portrayal of the maniacal Joker character, Singaporean Ng Chin Han’s meaty role on the show, and Edison Chen’s blink-and-you-miss-it cameo, and there you have it, an absolute must-watch movie of the year. It might be a little overstretched to say this, but this film oozes Oscar Best Picture quality. Heck, if this were a thriller film, shedding the superhero tag to it but featuring the same plot and character outlines, it might have done pretty good at the Oscars, as superhero films generally don’t receive much attention at the Oscars, whatever the quality. So yeah, it’s that good. Hail the dark knight, believe the hype.
me at 12:28 AM
