Serious ? You bet

Ever since I remember, I have been a great fan of Batman. Among all superheroes he is the most human (unlike the ever so powerful superman and the whiny spider man). The troubled knight has always juggled between the gray and black shades of the human character. It is his fear that makes him surpass the normal curve and be called a hero and not his courage or persona. On the flip side, he is the most caricatured superhero. There have been a number of mini series and a lot of movies made about him, but none of them have been able to justice to his toils and turmoils. Enter Christoper Nolan (Memento and The Prestige being his other works). In 2005, Nolan took the reins of the batman series and Batman Begins was born. I remember watching it in awe, I was satisfied to say the least that atleast some film maker had the same sensibility as mine. He portrayed Batman as a human being who was as dark as any one of us. The movie was a run away hit and was called the darkest Batman movie ever. What intrigued me the most was the last scene, however, where Sgt. Gordon hands batman a card saying that another theatrical goon was on the prowl, the card being that of the Joker.

Since that very moment I have eagerly followed the progress of the second of the series, The Dark Knight. I was a bit disappointed when he cast Heath Ledger for the role of the Joker. I was wishing it to be someone more like Pitt or Depp. But as the filming started and over the years the rushes started coming in, I was surprised to find people talking about Ledger's performance more and more. In January, 2008, the actor passed away. This created more interest in his role and the film. But i was truly excited when i saw the first posters of the movie come out.

The get up and the tag line were in itself so appealing that one had to wonder "Will it be good?". Come July 18,2008, the question was answered and how.

Let me give you a quick synopsis of the impact, the length of the movie is 2 hrs and 30 mins. That for any hollywood movie is long and if it is not a movie of Titanic love proportions, it is a goner. The audience was stuck to their seats the entire length of the movie. They clapped and whistled (in a Mumbai multiplex mind you) at Ledger's entry and every dialogue (and monologue). The action sequences were breath taking (and i was ruing the absence of the movie at IMAX). The screenplay was very tight and captivating to say the least. Christian Bale was good, but he was somehow misplaced due to overpowering presence of Heath Ledger. Ledger's zany and crazy no holds barred depiction of the Joker made Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the same character seem like a joke (pun unintended).

But that was about the performances, the movie is more than that. It is a dark movie. The humor is cryptic and black. Nolan mocks the society and law makers for their inability to fight crime and hence look for a messiah to do the job. He also mocks organized crime and creates a character whose chaos breaks the power of the so called crime bosses. He salutes the normal citizen's heroic spirit and laments the fragility of public heroes' character. In a world seemingly heading towards self destruction, heroes may be the only answer we have got, the only refuge we can run to.

A few moments to watch out for :
a) The Hong Kong escape scene
b) The diversion scene where the subterfuge is a truck on fire. The truck, is a fire brigade!!
c) How many of you knew that Slaughter is Laughter with an S? I didn't, the joker told me!

Go watch the movie and catch the best performance of an actor who sadly went before his Time.
As the riddler in Batman Forever said "Riddle me this Riddle me that Who is afraid of the big black bat?". Not the joker atleast!!