Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Dark Knight

tdk

It's hard to imagine that an overused, overquoted cheesy line from a soppy romance comedy would make its appearance in a dark, action-packed comic film.

But it did.

And it appeared in one of the most tensed scenes in the movie no less. Where Batman was just about to plummel the Joker into a pulp.

The Joker, in all his clown make-up glory, staring Batman straight to his face, uttered these 3 words with such earnest and innocence, as if they were star-crossed lovers.

"You complete me"

So contradicting and ironic, you can't help but giggle. What? Did he really say that? Did he mean what he said, or was he just... joking?

But how can the good co-exist with the evil? How are they dependant on each other when they are polar opposites?

Day and night. Fire and water. Moon and the sun. Ying and Yang.

And yet when you think about it, one wouldn't have been able to exist without the existence of the other.

Like 2 sides of a coin.

A balance.

"You complete me"

Every beginning has an ending. Every good time ends. Every bad time ends.

A never-ending cycle.

With The Dark Knight reigning over Gotham and single handedly becoming the icon of ultimate good, the birth of the ultimate evil was bound to happen. And it happened in the form of The Joker.

The Clown Prince of Crime.

No DNA, no fingerprints. Custom clothing, no tags or brand labels. No name, no other alias. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint.

His motive?
Not money. Not pleasure. Not revenge.

But just because.

Like the Devil is to God. You can't blame the devil for being evil. He's just doing his job. And just like Bruce Wayne is doing his job to keep the city free from crime, it is the Joker's job to keep it filled with crime.

The perfect criminal. With no other motives except to be the epitome of and to create evil.

"You complete me"

We don't usually root for the bad guy because it's wrong, because the bad guy is always so hateful. But this bad guy is so good, you can't help but respect him for his utter and complete devotion to his craft. He has only one goal and he goes all out to achieve it. His purpose is clear. His intent is pure. How do you loathe someone like that?

TDK is the type of movie every producers and directors can only dream of making. They set out with good intentions to make the best movie ever, but more often than not, they miss the point by a mile because they tried too hard.

With TDK, execution was just right.

Clever lines which will be re-quoted again and again for years to come. Real and memorable characters. Impeccable timing. Elaborate set. Ass-kicking storyline. Action sequences which blow your mind away. Emotions that it stirs within you.

It was perfect.

Heath Ledger did more than play a character.

He brought it to life.

TDK was not just a superhero film.

It was storytelling at its finest.

More:
Official website
On IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes

13 comments:

  1. So, you liked it? :p

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  2. Couldn't agree more on everything you said! Love every 153 minutes of it!!!!

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  3. He also had the best magic trick ever! TAH-DAH!!!

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  4. 'Ying and Yang.'

    You Chinese speaking is bad lah. It's Yin and Yang!!!

    'You can’t blame the devil for being evil. He’s just doing his job.'

    Freedom of choice! Free Will! So, you can blame the devil. :-)

    'uttered these 3 words with such earnest and innocence, as if they were star-crossed lovers.'

    He just needs to say it to 'Mini Me' now and the circle will be complete! :-)

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  5. Another tag line -

    Why So Serious???

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  6. Saddest moment for me was when the Joker said...

    "I think you and I are destined to do this forever"

    Because I knew he couldn't.

    RIP Heath. :(

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  7. actually kinda gross. u only say to ur lover "you complete me".... imagine after that statement should normally end up in hot kissing scene...... *bleh*

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  8. hahah! yea... - u complete me ...a jerry mcguire moment!

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  9. That was an excellent description of the movie. I have not watched it and now I'm VERY looking forward to it. Great writing!

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  10. Ledger did the Joker so well, it was disturbing..

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  11. A bit too long, could have cut down to 2 hr. However,
    the joker was inspired acting. Can't get enough of his sick jokes.

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  12. I belum tengok T_T and Fire Angel should be the best villain mah. =P

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  13. I totally agree and relate to your review!
    Nice one! ;)

    Btw,
    I linked you! XD

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