Movie No. 13: The Dark Knight

One of the things that has seemed remarkably consistent about the recent spate of comic-book superhero films is the placement of the hero front and center.

For better ("Spider-Man 2") or worse ("Spiderman 3"), the three Spidey films were all, at their heart, Peter Parker's story. This year's "Iron Man" succeeds in large part because it keeps its focus squarely on its hero, with Robert Downey Jr.'s performance managing to, if not obscure, then at least outweigh the film's storytelling shortcomings.

Perhaps, therefore, Christopher Nolan's most audacious move in the creation of his second Batman film, "The Dark Knight," wasn't casting Heath Ledger as the joker (obviously a good choice) or jettisoning Katie Holmes (Maggie Gyllenhaal is infinitely better here) but rather in crafting a Batman movie in which Batman is mostly a supporting character.

This film picks up where "Batman Begins" left off. Batman (Christian Bale) might have gotten Carmine Falcone (played by Tom Wilkinson in "Begins") out of the picture, but organized crime is far from dead in Gotham. Others have risen to take his place, including Eric Roberts' Salvatore Maroni, while Detective Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Batman continue to work together to take them down, finding a new ally in crusading district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

Not all crime in Gotham these days is of the organized variety, however. Enter Heath Ledger's anarchic Joker, a man perhaps more dangerous than all of the mobsters put together. Their motive is money, and therefore they are somewhat predictable. The Joker has no such cares. His motive is instilling fear, pure and simple, the sort of fear that can bring out humanity's darker inclinations.

Much of the hype for the film has centered on Ledger because of his untimely death. Something tells me, however, Ledger would have been the center of attention even if he had lived. His performance is simply that good, that scary and, at times, even that comedic (he is, after all, the Joker). I had assumed the "best villain of all time" talk was hyperbole, but after seeing it, he at least has to be in the discussion.

The use of fear as a theme is nothing new for Nolan. It ran throughout "Batman Begins" as well. Here, however, he broadens the scope. This isn't one man's fears. It's a city's. And Nolan wants probe what fear brings, both the good and the bad. And it's not scared of complexity. At one point the hero uses a technique to track the Joker that makes warrantless wiretapping seem more benign than knocking on a suspect's door. On the other hand, it also hints that believing that such a power should exist makes one completely unfit to wield it.

As much as Ledger commands the screen when he's on it, however, more than anything else "The Dark Night" is Harvey Dent's story. Eckhart imbues the prosecutor with a moral clarity that makes the scenes where that certainty is lost all the more tragic. Through him, the movie examines the need for symbols in times of crisis. While both are putting their lives at risk trying to take on Gotham's criminal element, one is more important because of what he can symbolize to people, the hope he can give. It is this realization that gives the movie's ending power.

You almost feel bad for Eckhart. He gives a wonderful performance here, giving Dent passion, swagger and determination, but too often in discussions of the film he goes almost unmentioned. It's too bad. This is the movie's central performance, and it's a darned good one.

A

Movie No. 12: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

It must be tough to follow up a masterpiece. The expectations are heightened. Everyone is expecting another bit of brilliance.

Perhaps Guillermo del Toro was smart in following up "Pan's Labyrinth" with Hellboy sequel. No one's expecting a sequel to a good but unmemorable comic book film to be a lasting work of cinematic genius, and it's not. It is pretty much like the first one, consistently watchable, visually imaginative, but otherwise not really remarkable in any way.

Here Hellboy (Ron Perlman) must fight to stop Prince Nuada, who is trying to resurrect an army of indestructible soldiers to fight humanity for mankind's encroachment on the forests, which were supposed to belong to his people under a long-ago truce. Also back from the first film are his aquatic friend Abe (Doug Jones) and his fiery - literally- girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair). Fighting along with them is Nuada's twin sister, Princess Nuala, whom Abe takes a shine to.

There's some attempts at some interesting character stuff involving how Hellboy wants to be accepted into a society that fears him because of how he looks, but neither that, nor any of the other thematic pieces sprinkled here and there are enough to lift it up to a higher level, to make it more than just well-made and good-looking summer entertainment. It ain't no more, nor any less. I don't regret seeing it, but compared to the superhero movie I'm going to be reviewing next, it comes across a bit like child's play, especially for a director of del Toro's immense talent.

B-

A few odds and ends

For those who haven't noticed, I finally updated my "WALL-E" review. Once again, another wonderful film from Pixar. It's in the same league as "Ratatouille" and the Toy Story films.

As much as I liked Ratatouille, however, I now realize why some didn't even think it deserved the best animated Oscar. If you look over to the side of the page under the 2007 list, you'll see I have a new No. 3. "Persepolis" is a different kind of animated film, contrasting the magic of "Ratatouille" with something more pointed and personal. The story of a young girl growing up in the repressive atmosphere of Iran is simply powerful.

"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" didn't fare as well, however. There's nothing all that bad about it, there's just not that much good. The store looks like it would have been a hoot to shop at, but nothing else about the film captured the imagination. It lacked that fairytale-come-to-life magic.

I also have to say, my experiences with the AFI list movies have been much better since "Gone with the Wind," especially "City Lights" and "Vertigo." Even those that wouldn't make my personal list, like "The Searchers," have impressed me. And heck, almost despite itself "Singing in the Rain" might be my favorite of the pure musicals I've seen simply because it is such a joy to watch.

Here's hoping that "The Dark Knight" lives up to its hype.