Why... so... serious?

Harvey Dent said in TDK that "the night is darkest just before the dawn" and it made the movie good because they were able to depict this quote very well. the chaos and anarchy really reflected the "darkness" Gotham was under. and the Joker as the promoter of this chaos and anarchy is a magnificent villain. as Alfred said, "Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." so, what do you do when you face a man like the joker who is beyond reason but not necessarily insane? and when the dawn comes, does it mean everything will be alright? there's no definite solution/answer for the former except, as Alfred said, "Endure!" and as for the latter, i think Joker answered this when he said "You've changed things... forever. There's no going back."

The Joker appears to be the one in full control of chaotic situation and the only thing Batman can do is endure even if when the "dawn" comes, things will never be same as they were before. and maybe thats why the movie is named TDK because of the difficult nature of the role batman had to play despite its very villain-centered/Joker-centered theme. but even if what used to be an "immovable object" known as Batman had the difficult task of choosing to confront an "unstoppable force" in the person of the Joker, whatever the costs, making TDK a great being, i still think the Joker is more brilliant for trying to create an "organized chaos" by trying to manipulate human reason by corrupting their minds and tinkering with their emotions. the only reason why the Joker failed is because when one deals with human emotion, you deal with the irrational. the Joker can only exercise control over the irrational as long as the rational side exerts some influence over it. the moment reason loses its power over human emotions, not even a criminal mastermind like the Joker can predict human actions under this state of mind or being. so, things will be left to chance, which makes Two-Face a bit relevant. because when unpredictability enters the picture, you then try to make use of probabilities to gain some control (or an impression of control). it then boils down whether the odds are against you or not. so now that i think about it, Batman didnt really stop the Joker, its human unpredictability due to power of the human emotion exhibited in the "blow up the other boat" scene.

so, in order to appreciate Batman's character, you have to look at the movie as whole which reflects TDK's state of mind. and its easier to appreciate and enjoy the villains because they are the ones that induce such state of mind.