The Dark Knight

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Cillian Murphy, Anthony Michael Hall, Nestor Carbonell
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
2008

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: Batman (Christian Bale) works with lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) and district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to clean up Gotham City. However, the emergence of the maniac Joker (Heath Ledger) threatens to undo all their work and plunge the city into darkness.

Review:

Tim: I know that this is one of the biggest movies of all time and one of the most beloved films in recent years. While seemingly everyone loved it, I have to say that I don't even think this was the best superhero movie of the year (that would be Iron Man). Plus, I am a huge Marvel fanboy and for that reason, Batman isn't my favorite superhero. I wasn't a massive fan of Batman Begins, but I have to admit greatness when I see it. The Dark Knight is an epic, incredible movie. It represents the best of the comic book genre of films, and even bigger than that- it is a great movie, regardless of genre.

Christopher Nolan gives us a movie that is less about a superhero and more about some of the biggest themes in life- good v. evil, personal sacrifice, the morality of society, the destructive nature of chaos, and much more. The comic book elements take a back seat to action, drama, and suspense. This is a comic book film that felt like it was rooted in the real world.

Truthfully, this movie would not be what it is without the performance of Heath Ledger. Even without the untimely, tragic death of Ledger providing the film an unfortunate boost, his performance would still go down as one of the greatest. His Joker is an absolute masterpiece of a villain. Ledger completely disappears behind the character. I could not take my eyes off his anarchistic, terrifying villain. I loved every second of his screen time. His performance is frightening, unforgettable, and truly stunning. Ledger completely deserved his posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The rest of the cast are mostly good as well. However, I didn't love the performance of Christian Bale. His growling, deep voiced performance of Batman leaves a great deal to be desired. I really did not like him all that well- he is quite overrated in this movie. His Bruce Wayne is average. Luckily, his performance is just good enough, and he has such great help around him. Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman all give very good performances once again. I really liked the addition of Aaron Eckhart to the cast. He is a very good actor and does exceptional work as Harvey Dent.

Nolan gives us some remarkable action scenes. There are a few car chase scenes which are stunning, the hospital explosion is remarkable, and the police station interrogation room scene is very good as well (it was exceptionally well executed). However, there are also a few questionable scenes as well. The whole ferry boat scene is a bit cheesy and ineffective. I also wasn't a big fan of the film's skyscraper ending or the field trip to Asia. Those scenes just felt slightly subpar. The recasting of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhaal is definitely an upgrade, but somewhat disruptive. I am not a fan of recasting roles from film to film, and I thought Gyllenhaal was decent, but not great by any means.

The Dark Knight is so amazing because it manages to be a terrific comic book/superhero movie while requiring only the smallest amount of suspended disbelief. This might be the most realistic, believable superhero movie ever made. It is an excellent movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a significant improvement over the previous film, which is always impressive. It is an incredibly well made movie and an unforgettable one. While I still love Marvel significantly more than DC, I have to admit the stunning achievement of this film. It very well might be the greatest Batman movie of all time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman, Batman Returns, Iron Man, Superman Returns, Terminator Salvation