Director Christopher Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise in glorious form with 2005's Batman Begins. Not only did it return the series to a darker tone, but it also finally gave a character based narrative that treated Bruce Wayne/Batman as the primary focus and, for once, not a stunt-cast villain. For the most part, it struck a chord with both critics and the public, with audiences eagerly awaiting a sequel after the film's not-so-subtle tease that Batman would soon be facing off with his arch-nemesis, The Joker. The film, simply titled The Dark Knight, was released in the summer of 2008. The hype was substantial and expectations couldn't have been higher. We expected to see something good, but what we would eventually get, was something none of us could have predicted...
The Dark Knight picks up approximately one year after the events of Batman Begins. Batman/Bruce Wayne (once again played by Christian Bale) continues his fight against crime and corruption in Gotham City. Still aided by Police Lieutenant Jim Gordon and his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (played once again by Gary Oldman and Michael Caine respectively), the streets of Gotham are improving and organized crime is on the way out. Better yet, Batman receives a new ally, Gotham's recently appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Dent is the city's first legitimate ray of hope in years, a well-intentioned idealist, Dent's heroic efforts have put numerous criminals behind bars and put the city on the path to salvation. Just when things begin to improve, a dark cloud makes its way over Gotham. A psychotic mastermind known simply as The Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger), an "agent of chaos" with a Glasgow smile and clown makeup, seeks to undo all of Batman and Dent's efforts. Even worse is the Joker's unpredictable nature and ability to be one step ahead of everyone else. Batman is pushed to his mental limits as the Joker's chaos continues to push Gotham into a pit of total anarchy. What will it take for The Dark Knight to bring down a criminal of this magnitude.
The Dark Knight was arguably the most hyped up movie of 2008. After the critical success of 2005's Batman Begins, audiences were eager to see how Christopher Nolan would continue the story.
The film was preceded by an extensive viral marketing campaign that gave fans the chance to participate in the revealing of new information. There was extensive mystery surrounding the film's new depiction of the Joker portrayed by Heath Ledger, and when Ledger tragically died months prior to the movie's release, that just raised more questions. There could not have been anymore hype surrounding this blockbuster, and expectations were at an all time high. Did it manage to live up to them? While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that the movie was released to a mostly positive consensus from critics, while audiences generally embraced the sequel. For me personally, you bet your ass this movie delivered!
This sequel scores big thanks to it's talented cast. Christian Bale returns as the Caped Crusader, once again bringing the same enthusiasm and intensity to the character as he did before. While he could have held back a bit on the scratchy Batman voice, I still maintain that Bale is the best live action performer to take on this character. Aaron Eckhart brings his natural talent to the depiction of Harvey Dent (to whom comic book fans know what the character being here means), the well-intentioned if somewhat troubled DA bent on saving Gotham. The film, in many ways, really belongs to Dent. His character has the most prevalent character arc, and he really sells his character's development (which I will not spoil despite the fact that I'm sure everyone has seen this movie by now.) The character of Rachel Dawes returns for this flick, now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. This was a change for the better, as Gyllenhaal is a much better performer than Katie Holmes and contributes to the film's solid cast. Gary Oldman returns as James Gordon, and once again showcases his acting chops as one of Batman's closest allies. Returning players like Morgan Freeman as Wayne's armorer Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as Wayne's trusted butler Alfred Pennyworth do their usual good job here too.
Of course, you all want me to talk about Heath Ledger's iconic performance as the Joker. Let me tell you folks, everything that's been said about Ledger is true. Not content with simply a good or even a great performance, Ledger took an already well-known character and made him something incredible, dare I say even legendary.
His portrayal of the clownish psychopath took bits and pieces from nearly every previous incarnation of the character while adding his own personal touches. In the process, this depiction of the Joker is as familiar as he is unique. Not only is he funny, but he's bat-shit scary too. This particular incarnation, as a matter of act, has sometimes been compared to Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and personally I can see the resemblance. Both characters were all about spreading anarchy and chaos, so the similarities are there. The film as a whole is quite suspenseful, and most of the movie's suspense is compliments of Ledger and his iconic villain. No joke here, Ledger's Joker is one of the best movie villains of all time. If nothing else, the film is worth seeing for Ledger's performance alone.
The movie, overall, looks great. Chicago once again stands in for Gotham City, and through some top notch cinematography, the city looks excellent. The action is an improvement of it's predecessor as well. While Begins had over-indulged in excessive shaky-cam, this one improves on that front by limiting the camera shake and letting the viewer to take in what's on screen. This is especially good since the film has some incredible action scenes that would have been severely hindered through too much shaky-cam. The stand out has to be an awesome chase scene that occurs approximately halfway through the movie. Add in a few other fight scenes plus an epic finale all realized through top notch camerawork, editing, and choreography, and the film is a technical masterpiece.
Story-wise, it's an exciting and consistently entertaining superhero epic that plays with some neat ideas. It's not a particularly tight narrative, but when you've got a story with the Joker, that's kind of to be expected. There are a couple scenes with outcomes that are so crazy and really push the plausibility of Nolan's "gritty realism" approach, but most of the time, they come off as just crazy enough to work (or at least seem believable.)
That said, there are a few minor plot holes and gaps in logic here and there that might leave you scratching your head. Some have complained that the film is too long, and at 2.5 hours, it does run a bit longer than it probably needed to, but personally, I was having such a blast with the film that it practically whizzed by. The ideas it touched on kept the story engaging, at times even poignant. As Jim Gordon said at the end of Batman Begins, "what about escalation?" It's an interesting point, what happens when a city's criminals have adapted to new forms of law enforcement (or in this case a vigilante)? Plus, the Joker, in many ways, is a creation of Batman's doing. While Batman used theatricality to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, the Joker uses a similar approach to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's citizens. This begs the question, is Batman's presence actually doing more harm than good? These are interesting questions that the film manages to portray, and makes for a movie that's while not quite thought-provoking, is at least somewhat interesting.
So, that's The Dark Knight... and yes, this movie is awesome! At the time of the film's release, and even today, many film-goers were calling it one of the best movies of all time? Do I agree with that statement??? Truthfully... not quite. There's no way of comparing this particular film with some of cinema's greatest achievements. Despite what some will tell you, this film is not on par with movies like Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Seventh Seal, or Vertigo (I mention those particular films because I've actually heard people say The Dark Knight is superior to the four I just listed). That said, I do think The Dark Knight is, in some ways, a sort of masterpiece. It's arguably the biggest step forward for superhero/comic book films, ranks among the best of most summer blockbusters, and is easily one of the best offerings of the action genre. It's proof that summer blockbusters can be both exciting and have a brain, and if there were more summer outings like this, blockbusters probably wouldn't have as negative as a reputation among film snobs. Oh, and by the way, yes I do think this film was unfairly snubbed out of a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
My Score: 5 out of 5! I know it's not perfect, but dammit I love this movie! If you're one of the five people in the world who hasn't seen it... what the hell are you waiting for? See it!
The Dark Knight was arguably the most hyped up movie of 2008. After the critical success of 2005's Batman Begins, audiences were eager to see how Christopher Nolan would continue the story.
The film was preceded by an extensive viral marketing campaign that gave fans the chance to participate in the revealing of new information. There was extensive mystery surrounding the film's new depiction of the Joker portrayed by Heath Ledger, and when Ledger tragically died months prior to the movie's release, that just raised more questions. There could not have been anymore hype surrounding this blockbuster, and expectations were at an all time high. Did it manage to live up to them? While I can't speak for everyone, I can say that the movie was released to a mostly positive consensus from critics, while audiences generally embraced the sequel. For me personally, you bet your ass this movie delivered!This sequel scores big thanks to it's talented cast. Christian Bale returns as the Caped Crusader, once again bringing the same enthusiasm and intensity to the character as he did before. While he could have held back a bit on the scratchy Batman voice, I still maintain that Bale is the best live action performer to take on this character. Aaron Eckhart brings his natural talent to the depiction of Harvey Dent (to whom comic book fans know what the character being here means), the well-intentioned if somewhat troubled DA bent on saving Gotham. The film, in many ways, really belongs to Dent. His character has the most prevalent character arc, and he really sells his character's development (which I will not spoil despite the fact that I'm sure everyone has seen this movie by now.) The character of Rachel Dawes returns for this flick, now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. This was a change for the better, as Gyllenhaal is a much better performer than Katie Holmes and contributes to the film's solid cast. Gary Oldman returns as James Gordon, and once again showcases his acting chops as one of Batman's closest allies. Returning players like Morgan Freeman as Wayne's armorer Lucius Fox and Michael Caine as Wayne's trusted butler Alfred Pennyworth do their usual good job here too.
Of course, you all want me to talk about Heath Ledger's iconic performance as the Joker. Let me tell you folks, everything that's been said about Ledger is true. Not content with simply a good or even a great performance, Ledger took an already well-known character and made him something incredible, dare I say even legendary.
His portrayal of the clownish psychopath took bits and pieces from nearly every previous incarnation of the character while adding his own personal touches. In the process, this depiction of the Joker is as familiar as he is unique. Not only is he funny, but he's bat-shit scary too. This particular incarnation, as a matter of act, has sometimes been compared to Alex from A Clockwork Orange, and personally I can see the resemblance. Both characters were all about spreading anarchy and chaos, so the similarities are there. The film as a whole is quite suspenseful, and most of the movie's suspense is compliments of Ledger and his iconic villain. No joke here, Ledger's Joker is one of the best movie villains of all time. If nothing else, the film is worth seeing for Ledger's performance alone.The movie, overall, looks great. Chicago once again stands in for Gotham City, and through some top notch cinematography, the city looks excellent. The action is an improvement of it's predecessor as well. While Begins had over-indulged in excessive shaky-cam, this one improves on that front by limiting the camera shake and letting the viewer to take in what's on screen. This is especially good since the film has some incredible action scenes that would have been severely hindered through too much shaky-cam. The stand out has to be an awesome chase scene that occurs approximately halfway through the movie. Add in a few other fight scenes plus an epic finale all realized through top notch camerawork, editing, and choreography, and the film is a technical masterpiece.
Story-wise, it's an exciting and consistently entertaining superhero epic that plays with some neat ideas. It's not a particularly tight narrative, but when you've got a story with the Joker, that's kind of to be expected. There are a couple scenes with outcomes that are so crazy and really push the plausibility of Nolan's "gritty realism" approach, but most of the time, they come off as just crazy enough to work (or at least seem believable.)
That said, there are a few minor plot holes and gaps in logic here and there that might leave you scratching your head. Some have complained that the film is too long, and at 2.5 hours, it does run a bit longer than it probably needed to, but personally, I was having such a blast with the film that it practically whizzed by. The ideas it touched on kept the story engaging, at times even poignant. As Jim Gordon said at the end of Batman Begins, "what about escalation?" It's an interesting point, what happens when a city's criminals have adapted to new forms of law enforcement (or in this case a vigilante)? Plus, the Joker, in many ways, is a creation of Batman's doing. While Batman used theatricality to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, the Joker uses a similar approach to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's citizens. This begs the question, is Batman's presence actually doing more harm than good? These are interesting questions that the film manages to portray, and makes for a movie that's while not quite thought-provoking, is at least somewhat interesting.So, that's The Dark Knight... and yes, this movie is awesome! At the time of the film's release, and even today, many film-goers were calling it one of the best movies of all time? Do I agree with that statement??? Truthfully... not quite. There's no way of comparing this particular film with some of cinema's greatest achievements. Despite what some will tell you, this film is not on par with movies like Citizen Kane, The Godfather, The Seventh Seal, or Vertigo (I mention those particular films because I've actually heard people say The Dark Knight is superior to the four I just listed). That said, I do think The Dark Knight is, in some ways, a sort of masterpiece. It's arguably the biggest step forward for superhero/comic book films, ranks among the best of most summer blockbusters, and is easily one of the best offerings of the action genre. It's proof that summer blockbusters can be both exciting and have a brain, and if there were more summer outings like this, blockbusters probably wouldn't have as negative as a reputation among film snobs. Oh, and by the way, yes I do think this film was unfairly snubbed out of a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
My Score: 5 out of 5! I know it's not perfect, but dammit I love this movie! If you're one of the five people in the world who hasn't seen it... what the hell are you waiting for? See it!
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