The Dark Knight

WARNING -- Spoilers for the Batman movie, The Dark Knight

I finally got around to seeing the lastest Batman flick last night. I wasn't even aware that it was still in theaters, but it obviously was. Not only that, but the theater was packed! I'm used to seeing movies well after their premieres in nearly-empty theaters. This was not at all what I expected.

There was a good reason there were so many people watching the movie though. I agree with those who think that Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker deserves a posthumous Oscar. They finally found someone who can out-crazy Jack Nicholson, and he up and dies after making the movie.

A couple of things struck me about the movie. The first was how long it was! It was almost 3 hours long, and there were several points in the movie where it felt like it was nearing the end--the bad guys seemed to be defeated or nearly so, and the good guys started talking like movie characters do toward the climax of a film. Then something happens and the plot does a 180 and the audience is hauled up yet another lift hill for yet another roller coaster ride. The rhythm of the film was different from the norm for movies, and I think that made The Dark Knight more disturbing, as you really didn't know what would happen next.

The second thing was that Ledger's version of the Joker is now my reference for Chaotic Evil. I like to have characters that, to me, epitomize the various D&D alignments, as an aide to role-playing. Jack Shaftoe from the Baroque Cycle, for instance, is my iconic Chaotic Neutral character. The Joker is CE, caring only about causing destruction, mayhem, and suffering. It's notable that, unlike the first Batman movie, they didn't give the Joker an origin story. He wasn't a crook who got dumped in chemicals that gave him a clown face and a taste for joke-themed crime. The Joker himself was fond of telling stories of his past, but they were all contradictory, and in the end we don't know who he was or what he was--he remains an enigma.

The third thing was that Batman is NOT the "World's Greatest Detective," at least not in this continuity, as he constantly fell for the Joker's tricks. The REAL World's Greatest Detectives (actually the world's THREE greatest detectives in one) would have seen through the deception as he saw through Light's more subtle trickery. Or maybe I'm just an L fan :)

I was thinking of Death Note at a few points during the film. I was curious just what a person with Shinigami eyes would see when he looked at the Joker. Did he really have a real name? Fiction is full of nameless heroes and villains, but is it possible for a person to be truly nameless?

And yes, I managed to turn a blog post about at Batman movie into pointless Death Note speculation. Oh well, I guess I just like Death Note.

But...I also liked The Dark Knight! If you haven't seen it, and you like tense, psychological, yet still action-packed movies (or you like Batman), go see it while it's still in theaters!