Wholly Epic, Batman

Last night I watched The Dark Knight on DVD. Now this is only the second time I've seen it - I resisted writing anything about it in July after my first viewing because I wanted to make sure I was commenting on the actual film rather than being swayed by the spectacle of IMAX (which was fantastic by the way).

I'm so happy the Batman franchise has been rescued from the likes of Joel Schumacher. I can't really comment on Batman & Robin as although I've sat down to watch it twice, I've never made it past the 15-minute mark. Its predecessor Batman Forever is poor, although slightly more watchable.

Now this is not to say that the Tim Burton Batman films are flawless. Although I was a huge fan of Batman upon its release in 1989, I can definitely see its weaknesses. In fact, it only has one true disadvantage in that it's a Tim Burton film. Name one of his films that doesn't suffer from style over substance. It's impossible! I can't really remember Batman Returns, although without Jack Nicholson - the true star of Batman - the film struggles with a lack of location shooting (a failing you can forgive the first film for, especially when Nicholson's on screen).

Which brings us to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I had avoided the first film at the cinema, based purely on my experiences with Batman & Robin. Although I had seen Memento by this point, the fact that Christopher Nolan would be directing the 5th film didn't exactly have me jumping up and down. How wrong I was! It's nice to be wrong about films every once in a while, as long as they're as good as this. Upon finally watching ...Begins at the cinema (also my first experience of seeing a film in IMAX) I was blown away. Nolan and his screenwriter brother treat the subject matter with a huge amount of respect, something you don't typically get with Hollywood films.

With The Dark Knight, it's been hard to separate the film from the hype - what with Heath Ledger being murdered by one of the Olsen twins and then Christian Bale machine-gunning his family to death - but last night's viewing on the small screen gave me a chance to re-evaluate.

Some say the film is overlong. At 152 minutes, this is always going to be a bone of contention. I reckon it's just the right length. However, I do believe that the film suffers from an odd pacing towards the final half hour. With one denouement after another (rather than interlacing them for dramatic effect a la the George Lucas school of filmmaking), you start to get weary. Aside from this, the film is a prime example of how good Hollywood can make a film, given the right source material and people involved.

Although the supporting cast shined in Batman Begins, here they jostle for attention with a larger cast and a labyrinthine plot. It's a shame Maggie Gyllenhaal didn't get chance to portray Rachel Dawes in the first Nolan film as she's infinitely more watchable than The Cruiser's mind-slave/wife.

Aaron Eckhart is superb as Gotham's District Attorney, overshadowing Bale and Gary Oldman in every scene. It's a shame he'll probably be too old to play Captain America (in the film slated for a 2011 release) as he'd be a perfect fit. Although not playing their full game, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are still a joy to watch, adding a touch of distinction to proceedings and grounding the film from its comic-book excesses.

I once read a story about Heath Ledger introducing himself at a party as 'Keith Fletcher', despite everybody at the party knowing exactly who he was. It's a terrible shame that he died, but his performance in The Dark Knight is a great final piece of work to leave behind (I'm going to conveniently gloss over The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus here as, like Tim Burton's oeuvre, Terry Gilliam's films also leave a sour taste in the mouth).

Yes he's made a few poor choices throughout his career but as the old saying goes, you're only as good as your last painting.