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It's not often I leave the theater after watching an action movie and launch into philosphical discussions with my fellow moviegoer about morality.
But then, "The Dark Knight" just isn't your typical action movie.
I agree with everything that Erin said in her post about the movie: Christian Bale is spot-on as Bruce Wayne, Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar for his sinister portrayal of the Joker, and the supporting cast was excellent.
And yea, the action sequences were awesome. Batman flying into a Hong Kong high rise and kidnap (or extradite ... you decide) a criminal, then float into a moving plane was one of the coolest stunts I've seen in any of the "Batman" movies.
But what makes the movie transcend your typical Comic-based blockbuster are The Joker's persistant attempts to make Gotham turn to its baser instincts.
And for no purpose other then that it entertained him.
At one point in the movie, The Joker puts bombs inside a ferry filled with prisoners and a ferry filled with everyday citizens. He gives each ferry a detonator and tells them that their detonator will blow up the other ship, and that if one ship does not blow up the other before midnight, he will blow them both up.
The exercise reminded me of this episode of an NPR program called Radio Lab that looked at the science behind morality.
Is the concept of right and wrong something we learn from infancy or is there something deeply biological about it?
I re-listened to the episode after seeing the movie last night, and it made me wonder if the ferry scenario were to happen in real life, if the people on the boats would have made the same decision they did in the movie.
If not for the clown makeup and inclination to violence , The Joker could easily be a professor in college philosophy course.
I'd definitely take that class.
now i want to see the movie! thanks for the thoughts.