This post is about The Dark Knight, a movie I liked but didn't love. One reason is because I believe too much in the film (especially about the characters) was told and not shown. When watching the film, listen carefully to the countless speeches/monologues because what is in them is going to define the characters and their roles in the film more than anything you'll actually see on the screen. I'd still recommend the film but I don't think people should believe the hype. It's an entertaining but flawed film.
The link to the full, spoiler-filled reaction is below
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To start off, I should say that I liked "The Dark Knight" and think it has some classic scenes. Heath Ledger stole the show and he'll forever be remembered for this portrayal of the Joker. Also, the tone and cinematography and score were all excellent and were basically what I have always wanted out of a Batman film.That being said, the film had some major flaws which hurt it, the biggest being that the film relied on speeches to tell the audience what they should feel about certain characters/situations in spite of what they may be seeing.
To start, look at the end. We watch a big climatic scene in which the people of Gotham City, people who were actually fleeing the city in fear for their lives, stare death in the face and stand by their principles. They don't allow themselves to be ruled by fear. They foil The Joker's master plan. It's a climatic moment and something that you'd think would galvanize the city and be a moment that would go down in history.
Except it's not.
No, apparently that entire moment would be ruined if anyone ever found out that Harvey Dent went nutty and went on a one night crime spree. Really? Did we ever see Dent amongst the people? Did we see him cleaning up the streets or locking up criminals? Hell, did we at least see other public servants cowering and too afraid to take a stand? Why should we believe that the people of the city would be so damanged by this event?
Because we were told.
Over and over again, Chris Nolan's film TOLD us that Harvey Dent could be the White Knight that saves Gotham. He was the one savior. He was going to rise above the rampant corruption. And apparently, his demise would ruin everything.
What we were SHOWN however was much different. We never really saw how the people really felt about Dent or what high regard they held him in (we got one slow clap from a cop but that's about it). We never even saw much corruption. People kept saying it was corrupt but before the last act the only corruption we saw might have actually come from Dent's own office. (Ironically, the character from the first Batman that could have helped this film was named Eckhardt.)
Even worse, we saw every main character hold their ground. Nobody ran from a fight. While the speeches made it seem like Dent was a one man army, he was always flanked by Rachel Dawes, Commissioner Gordon, Batman, even The Mayor didn't hide when The Joker threatened his life (and it was Gordon who saved The Mayor). Nobody backed down. And I'm sorry but if the National Guard is called in because one psycho is blowing up half of the city and causing everyone is running for their lives, I think the D.A.'s influence is pretty much shot to shit. I really don't see how a guy who lost the one case we saw and failed miserably in holding Gotham together is going to be the guy whose fall from grace breaks the will of the people.
And this was the main problem with The Dark Knight. In order for the core of the film to work, you just had to believe what you were told and use that to define what you were seeing.
It could have been easily fixed, however. In fact, changing Dent's first scene could have gone a long way to establishing his character and situation. To start, Aaron Eckhardt played Dent as far to suave and flippant. He should have been singly focused on justice and the strength of the system ala Elliot Ness in The Untouchable. What he should do is walk in late to court and then make a bunch of wisecracks.
After that, the gun that was used to try to kill him shouldn't have been specially made and snuck in. It should have been a regular gun that could only have gotten in with some help from a crooked cop or baillif. This way we see that Dent is playing against a stacked deck and that corruption surrounds him but won't stop him. If you really want to go further, have him win the case (showing that he's putting a dent in the mob business) which could show that he really is putting a hurt on the mob.
After that, it couldn't hurt to show him working late, trying to put together another case against the mob. They needed to show that Dent was tireless and committed. As it is now, we are told these things but we see him: eating at a fancy restaurant, trying to go to the ballet, and hitting up a fund raiser. Meanwhile, Gordon is seen working late all the time and, if we didn't get that from seeing him in the office late at night, it's hammered home by a cop asking him if he is ever going to go home and see his wife again? Gordon shows all of the commitment but we're told Dent is the White Knight, the real savior.
This issue ruined the third act for me, an act which probably never should have occurred. The film probably should have been written so that it ended with the birth of Two Face (ending on an Empire Strike Back type unhappy ending). A second movie could have focused on Two Face's vengeance and Batman's attempt to finally corralle the Joker. That could have been a very interesting film, especially if they used the free time in the first film to better set-up the importance of Dent on the community. In the second movie, Gordon could be struggling to catch the Joker while also covering up that former golden boy Harvey Dent has become the maniac vigilante known as Two Face. It would have been better than basically dumping the Two Face character into the last act of this film.
In the end, I'm one of the few people I know who had this issue with the film. And even with those issues, I'd recommend the film but I'd say to expect a few too many speeches, buy into what you're told in said speeches, and prepare for the film to drag a bit at the end and be a half hour too long. But for the most part, you can just sit back and enjoy the carnage as The Joker and Batman bang heads.
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