The Dark Knight Movie Review
New Batman Film Staring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger as Joker
Jul 21, 2008
In The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan continues where he left off in Batman Begins with a revamped, darker Batman than previous film versions portrayed.
In the film’s opening, Batman continues to oversee Gotham City one year after the events in Batman Begins. But even with the Scarecrow behind bars, Batman has to contend with an emerging mob force and a new psychotic criminal on the rise named Joker.
Batman – The Dark Knight
While the story has become familiar - troubled superhero struggles to guard his identity while protecting the world from overzealous criminals, in The Dark Knight conflict follows every twist and turn.
Unlike other superhero movies, the characters have multiple layers, and the line between the good guys and the bad guys often fades thin. Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) blur the distinctions between good and bad to get the job done, while the latter slips closer to the bad side of things when severely burned, he re-emerges as the troubled Two-Face.
Even Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) are forced to choose between their loyalty to Batman and their own personal morals at various times during the film.
Heath Ledger as the Joker
The biggest struggle in this film, however, lays in the battle between Batman and the Joker. As Joker points out in one pivotal scene, they need each other to survive. Without that interpersonal conflict, The Dark Knight would fall flat. Though visually stunning, often shot in hues of blue and black, the film’s action scenes rehash car chases that have been done before and physical confrontations are filmed with such close up that the actual action becomes difficult to decipher.
Much has been written about the untimely demise of Heath Ledger after his portrayal of the demented Joker in this movie. Coming out of nowhere to wreak havoc on Gotham City, the film skipped the “how he became the Joker” subplot and instead picked up the story when the Joker was in full swing.
A criminal for criminal sake, Ledger plays the part brilliantly, possibly because of his own personal conflicts that came to light after his sudden death. The scene where the joker, dressed as a nurse, emerges from a burning hospital like a tripped out starlet, is worth the price of the movie ticket itself.
Christian Bale as Batman
As Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale excels. His good looks and superb form fills out the best business suits the multimillionaire can afford. Bale looks as comfortable behind the wheel of a smoking Lamborghini as he does the boardroom. He talks in a sophisticated voice with mannerisms that leach charm and class. Where Bale, and ultimately this movie, fails is his portrayal of the Caped Crusader.
Once Bale dons the Batman costume, he turns into a stiff cardboard cut-out who speaks like a dime store drag queen that spent the last few evenings consuming mass amounts of rum and cigarettes. Batman seems constantly stuck in a personality crisis.
Ledger’s Joker outwits Bale’s Batman by a long shot, leaving the movie lopsided and the audience cheering on the bad guy.
A dense and troubling movie, in a summer filled with superhero movies such as The Incredible Hulk and Ironman. The Dark Knight will ultimately be remembered not for Batman but for the Joker.
Other action packed Summer 2008 movies include The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and The X-Files I Want to Believe.
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