The Waking Badger

5 out of 5 stars

Well, I can’t disappoint my wife who predicted I would have this posted by this morning Well, she does know me pretty well as I was thinking about what I wanted to write here after watching the movie last night.

I absolutely loved this film and in many ways it is better than Batman Begins. The returning cast is all excellent. Christian Bale still manages to portray the best Batman outside of the comic books. Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman reprise their roles and further develop the depth of their relationship with the Batman. There’s definitely some fun exchanges that involve these characters, but they’re very easy to enjoy as they are the only ones who know who Bruce Wayne really is and have no difficulty treating him as a man rather than the symbol he portrays. They are his moral grounding. I believe Gary Oldman is the returning character who developed the most from the first film. He plays a larger role (at least it felt that way) and his character comes into its own in this film. I don’t want to speak further on it, but just see what you think…

Aaron Eckhart is really enjoyable as Harvey Dent. I’m glad they picked him for the role as he nailed the character of Gotham’s crusading district attorney. I’d talk more hear, but I don’t want to give anything away to those who don’t know the entire Batman mythos. Maggie Gyllenhaal does an excellent job replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. Okay, finally to the true star of the show, Heath Ledger as the Joker. Heath Ledger, rest in peace, redefines the Joker for the silver screen. In my opinion, this Joker annihilates Jack Nicholson’s Joker from memory as this is what the Joker SHOULD be (not that Jack’s Joker was bad, just goofier than needed). The Joker should be a psychopath who’s still somewhat connected to reality. The Joker just enjoys destruction, anarchy, and turning the world on it’s end, laughing all the while. Pain & death aren’t negatives to him, they’re possible outcomes and he just wants to enjoy the ride. That is what Heath Ledger brought to the role. We don’t know who he is, what his back story is, etc. It is all irrelevant. The Joker is anarchy and chaos. I am truly saddened that I won’t be able to see him reprise the role in the future due to his unfortunate death. This is the casting he was born for and the role he is likely to be remembered for.

There are some laugh out loud moments, some touching moments, and a few moments that caused the theater to give applause. I would say that this is the best “super hero” film ever, but Batman isn’t really a super hero. He’s a normal man doing extraordinary things purely due to dedication & force of will. I hope the cast returns again and Christopher Nolan brings us yet another riveting crime drama pulled from the pages of this great comic book.

Movie poster courtesy of the Internet Movie Poster Awards.