Possibly the best Christopher Nolan had to offer, but why is that? What does this superhero movie have that so many other marvel films today lack? This film cuts to the heart of the matter in a less bright way than Wonder Woman but just as valid. Let’s dive into how.

Good vs Evil–and how do we define them?

Everyone thinks dealing with the battle of good and evil today is so black and white, so cheesy, and far too simple to be interesting. They like shades of gray and to not be morally confined to one narrow minded viewpoint. Typically this is because today everyone has a different definition of good. I challenge these people to step into this film and handle all the chaos and immorality that gets thrown at Batman. I get so frustrated when in recent films villains are trying to make good and evil subjective and the alleged heroes have no idea how to handle it or what to say. 

• Joker’s argument in this film is basically that morality is entirely subjective and therefore a joke. If killing a random homeless man is okay then killing a cop or a mayor is okay. Unless you condemn ALL wrongs, you're excusing them and therefore what's right is subject to your own opinions and good is an illusion because good is all perspective. Joker believes human beings put on an air of morality and civility because it's acceptable but if pressed everyone would be revealed to be a villain. In other words, a person only doesn’t steal food because he can afford to buy it. People are good to their neighbors because it’s not their neighbor’s life or theirs. When comfort and safety is removed civilized people will eat each other. Most of Gotham and humanity in general might make this theory appear legitimate, however, Batman doesn't.

• Batman is blind justice and selfless service. He protects everyone regardless of title, status or position. He condemns all wrongs no matter how small and won't stand by while they happen. He serves Gotham getting nothing in return because he lost his parents and he can’t let the same thing happen to anyone else. He fights iniquity in Gotham because it’s what’s right, not to put on some pretentious garb of morality for the sake of appearances. Batman has such strict views he won’t evil kill the criminals he fights, he only delivers them to the justice system. Batman's view of human life as sacred goes so far that he won’t allow Joker to die. Batman wouldn’t let the League of Shadows destroy Gotham in the first film because he believed there was hope for them. He doesn't make himself judge jury and executioner, only protector, avenger, and servant.  

The reason having a hero who undoubtedly knows what they believe is so important is because if they don’t, it gives the villain ammunition. If Batman didn't fight all criminals and wrongdoing he would be susceptible to making Joker’s theory of selective morality true. The hero must know beyond a shadow of a doubt what lines they can’t cross and what they’re fighting against. If the hero is inconsistent or a hypocrite than it makes the villain look like they have a point.

Good is getting its tail kicked the entire film:  

I like films in which good is portrayed as the underdog because it’s so true. If you don’t believe me, try waiting for drivers with no STOP sign to let you into a lane and see how long it takes–I’m just saying. Or drop things in a store and wait to see if anyone comes to help you pick them up. In this movie good is not doing great. This is in more than the corruption we see from the Gotham police and the villainy that Harvey Dent succumbs to, it’s in the tone and events of every scene.

• The darker side of human nature is shown with the criminals throughout the film and their lack of regard for any human life. Joker splits a pool stick in half and implies two men will have to fight to the death for a position beside him and the sequence ends. 

• In the party scene Rachel is the only one who objects to Joker presuming to knife a man and puts herself at risk. And Batman is the only one who fights Joker when he’s about to carve up Rachel. 

• Harvey Dent—the white knight of Gotham city—is corrupted by vengeance and turns to villainy over the death of the woman he loves. This would almost seemingly prove Joker's point because Bruce Wayne believes Harvey Dent to be a better man than him. Bruce Wayne points out Dent is making more of a difference than Batman ever would.

• At the final of the film both boats are wired with explosives and will be blown up if they don’t trigger the bomb on the opposite ship. It’s kill or be killed. But only one person on each side has the courage and moral fiber to get rid of the trigger and refuse to murder an entire ship full of passengers. Even that decision takes pain staking time. Initially the people on the boats are fighting with each other saying they should blow up the opposite ship. 

In a lot of these scenarios the point is to put human nature to the test and say is someone really a good person if they had a gun to their head? It’s a struggle and for most of the film only a handful of characters are incorruptible. This is the struggle which is so missing from most modern hero films now. The enemy isn’t the evil which exists in human nature and our battle against it, it’s always some big bad with super powers looking to steal a macguffin or destroy the universe. Marvel has created a world of crime free New York city in Spiderman Homecoming and a death consequence free world in Avengers Endgame. 

The Dark light at the end of the tunnel which is the final act:

This movie does a fantastic job while being the closest thing to too dark I’ll allow for a hero film. As I said before, dark in a movie doesn’t mean gore, sex and violence. There must be hope of redemption in a superhero movie, the presentation or option of a better way and a light amidst depravity. This movie has very little hope in terms of light in darkness. 

• Our hero doesn't have hope for future happiness because the woman he loves is engaged to another man. Rachel tells Batman she’d be with him if things were different but then realizes she really loves Harvey, and she dies shortly after. 

• Harvey Dent, the hope for Gotham’s redemption and the general safety of the city's citizens, becomes a villain and dies at the end of the film.

•  And Batman becomes hated by the public when he’s the only one actually fighting for good.

There’s an overarching theme of false hope in this film. From the city’s false hope in Harvey Dent to Batman’s false hope in a future with Rachel that was never really possible. So the question remains, does good win the day? I would argue it does. Because despite the ubiquitous nature of the evil and the corruption in this film, the moments where one person acts nobly or selflessly prove there is hope and Joker is wrong. The people on the boats who refuse to blow each other up after a drawn out tense sequence throw a wrench in Joker’s philosophy as does Batman’s decision at the end. Batman allows the city to hate him because he believes it will do more good to let them believe in Harvey Dent, and to never know Two face existed. They might be believing in a lie regarding Harvey Dent, but the city did have a hero who took the fall for the sake of everyone else–it was just Batman and not the White Knight. So the actions of one person striving to do what’s right saves lives and shows as long as there is someone to fight, men like Joker don’t win.  It has just enough light at the end of the tunnel for me but does run a dangerously close line. 

My only contentions with the film:

Overall there’s so much well done in this film that the negative aspects aren't many but I’ll address them. Heath Ledger does a phenomenal job as Joker (God rest his soul). I love Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Caine is a terrific Alfred. Harvey Dent and Gordon are both well done and the plot plays out like a strategically well written tragedy. There are many excellent major sequences with great tension like the finale, the scene of Two face’s death, the party sequence, the interrogation scene with Batman and Joker–all excellent. Now that I’ve given all that credit I’ll mention my only peeves with the Dark knight.

• Rachel. She’s in a great position for tension, tragedy, and even has the potential to be a really good character. Her position as Bruce Wayne's childhood friend who he’s loved his whole life but sadly doesn't love him is a good tragic detail to the film.  Now the actress…..eh. They should have kept Katie Holmes. Maggie Gyllenhaal just doesn’t seem very into the role. When she tells Bruce she'd be with him if he  weren't Batman even a man blinded by love wouldn’t believe that acting. It’s not that the character is terrible, she has potential but I don’t buy the actress in the role. I think her death was an unexpected twist that punched viewers in the gut because in most hero films you don’t kill the hero’s love interest. The fact that she dies throws a shocking wrench in the plot, but still, the actress isn’t very strong in the role.

• The movie is more Joker’s than Batman’s. This adds to the bleak nature of the film and makes it almost a villain’s movie with Batman as the guest star. I’ve seen the film several times and I think Joker has more standalone scenes than Batman. Also the addition of Two Face as a villain and his development makes it seem more like a villain’s film with a hero in it struggling to keep up.

• The romance is a little messy. I like the set up of Batman still being selflessly in love with Rachel even though she’s moved on, but the allegedly romantic scenes between them felt a little forced. They kiss in this film and I’ve seen it several times but I’m still not sure why it happens. Because Rachel is engaged (basically) and Batman has stepped back because he thinks Harvey is the better man. So it looks like they kiss because the director said they had to in order to add tension, and neither one of them looks particularly enthused to be honest. 

Overall:

In a nutshell, a great movie–just enough light in the darkness but there were aspects that could have been touched up. Much better than the hero films Disney is making now. Dark Knight Rises is more of a mixed bag but that’s next on the agenda.