The Dark Knight
The highly anticipated sequel to Nolan's impressive Batman Begins shows a Gotham City that is in control of crime and corruption thanks to the efforts of Batman, Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and the ambitious new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). However things don't stay peaceful for long as the criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) unleashes his own brand of chaos installing a sense of fear into the hearts of criminals and civilians alike.
The Dark Knight exploded onto the screen exceeding any expectations surrounding its potential, earning critical and box office success worldwide. A major reason for the film's success is Heath Ledger. His tragic and premature death meant The Dark Knight was a finale like performance, and boy was it a performance. It is well known that Ledger's performance was nothing less than extraordinary, even earning him a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor. So what is it that makes his performance so memorable? For starters Ledger had the most amazing script and scenes to work with written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan as well as a great make up and costume department. But all that counts for nothing without the right actor, Ledger transformed himself into the character with such energy and excitement that his portrayal was simply compulsive to watch. Nowadays you can't go to a dress up party without seeing one or usually multiple jokers, his character has become an iconic symbol of pop culture with his actions and quotes made famous, "why so serious?".
The Dark Knight follows on with the themes of Batman Begins exploring the blurry line between good and evil, hero and villain and asks the question how can Batman remain ethically sound when faced with such a villain as The Joker. The Joker is unmistakeably a villain, he shows no sense of compassion or humility using his intelligence to execute psychotic plans. What makes him so dangerous is that he isn't after money or power he is simply bored, looking to create chaos and destruction simply because he can. Harvey Dent is a much more complicated character as his character and moral code is tested when The Joker tries to expose his inner anger and list for revenge. There is no doubt that Ledger's Joker is the star of the film but Eckhart provides a very strong performance as the white knight of Gotham City.
Perhaps my only criticism from the film is the casting change of Rachel. I don't know whether it was Katie Holmes' choice to leave the role or she was asked to, but whatever the reason it's just annoying. Especially given the fate of the character there was no need to change actresses, sure Gyllenhall gives a strong performance and is better than Holmes but it takes away from the realism of the film as you start to see the actors/actresses as just that and not characters. Returning in the film are Batman's support network consisting of Alfred (Michael Caine), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) whose role is fleshed out as the always consistent presence of the police force. Christian Bale also reprises his role of Batman/Bruce Wayne, but this time the film is more focused on the villains than developing his character.
The Dark Knight has one of the best opening scenes of all time, it is so incredibly sharp and clever that you know immediately this is a film worth watching. The film ends just as strongly as it starts combining action, suspense and drama along with a moving philosophical overtone. This is a movie packed full of memorable scenes, whether its an impressive action sequence showing off Batman's new gadgets, watching the joker break out of prison or a moral choice on the harbour with consequences of life and death. It's as if Nolan is trying to better himself with every scene, in which he continually succeeds.
The Dark Knight is definitely the darkest batman film and one of the darkest superhero films ever made, but it suits the character of Batman. This isn't a film where the greatest suspense lies in whether or not the girl will find out the superheros true identity. The Dark Knight deals with violent and confronting scenes, serious moral choices and a superhero that remains a feared 'vigilante' of the night. One of the greatest aspects of the film is the suspense, the audience is constantly made to wonder what will happen next prepared for anything.For the most part you forget that you are watching a superhero film it isn't until Batman soars through the city on his cape that you are reminded what type of film you are watching and how far the genre has come.
The best way for any movie to make lots of money is for it to be good. A film can hire the biggest stars and have the most expensive advertising campaign but for a movie to be successful on the scale of The Dark knight it has to not just be a good film but a great film. Many fans will flock to the opening night or see a film with high expectations on its opening weekend but its the sign of a quality film when viewers are still swarming in on the tenth, eleventh, twelfth week.
I have great respect for Nolan for wanting to conclude the trilogy despite the enormous box office and critical success that he has achieved. there is no doubt that this is a franchise that could have made many more successful films but a quality director knows when to stop. The Dark Knight Rises is perhaps the most highly anticipated film of the year and what a task it was for Nolan to undertake. How could he possibly better the Dark Knight? The answer is he doesn't need to, all that we can hope is that Nolan provides a satisfying conclusion to his epic vision of which I am confident he will deliver.
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