Nelson Galaxy

I visited my local Genesis Cinema last night to view The Dark Knight. I was asked by Pip to sum the film up in four words without giving any of the plot away – he’s off to see it himself you see. This is what I said: “Very good and yet . . .”

It is a very good film. It is an ideas laded movie and to see Hollywood spend millions of dollars on this type of intelligent film-making is brilliant. It has broken box office records in the UK and US, proving that the movie-going public are more intelligent and savvy than money-led studios and producers give them credit for. It sticks to its principles throughout and does not descend into Transformers territory two thirds of the way through, like Ironman.

This is an ensemble piece and the acting is impeccable. There has been a lot of talk about Heath Ledger’s performance, which is outstanding but gruesome when you realise you are watching a dead man on screen. He plays the Joker as a total psychopath who is in it for fun, not money or need for criminality. He has something to prove about the dark side of human nature and parades his victims in a YouTube voyeuristic way. This is no Jack Nicholson-type clown.

However, the best performance of the piece has to go to Gary Oldman, who plays Gordon in a very understated way, a man who is often overlooked as other characters take centre stage.

The film looks amazing with great cinematography and custom built sets, any digital effects are seamless. It is a very adult film with some particularly nasty moments. These could have gone much further, especially the knife to face moments, but with a 12A rating there has to be a limit. This is Bob Kane-era comic book territory.

The major theme is the fight between light and dark. Batman and the Joker are total opposites but inhabit the same world, one cannot exist without the other. It is like the political spectrum where extreme socialism and extreme fascism are totally different ideologies but in practice are nearly the same. In the middle of this is Harvey Dent, a good guy who could make Batman, the vigilante crime fighter, redundant by using legitimate means. The Joker wants to show how a good man can turn bad. Dent is the emotional core of the film and as he is ripped apart by these opposing forces his downfall is heart-wrenching.

But why the “and yet” moment? This is a film to be admired rather than loved. The ideas-centric themes lead to an emotional detachment, leaving the film feeling rather cold. In this ensemble cast Batman is often overlooked in favour of the Joker and Harvey Dent and at times looks too vulnerable. The bat voice is just ridiculous. There are too many moral dilemmas, with a whole set-piece involving two ferries feeling redundant. The film is too long and Christopher Nolan should have trimmed extensively – this could have been a brilliantly lean and dark action spectacular.

I apologise for finding fault with a blockbuster that is so dark and intellectual and I really do advise you to go and see it because it is a great film, and yet . . .