The Dark Knight

Rating: 8/10 (14 September 2008)

The first film in the re-imagining of the series was a big hit, but this sequel was a global success, especially with the superb performance by the star of Brokeback Mountain who tragically died from a (prescribed) drugs overdose shortly after filming had finished, from director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia). Basically a criminal terrorist and mastermind calling himself the Joker (posthumous Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe winning Heath Ledger) robs the bank run by the mob, and to take on the Mafia district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) becomes the new face for justice and hope in Gotham City, with the help of Batman aka Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and Lieutenant James 'Jim' Gordon (Gary Oldman). Mob bosses Sal Maroni (Eric Roberts), Gambol (Michael Jai White) and the Chechen (Ritchie Coaster), who have had Chinese accountant Lau (Chin Han) hide their funds, are confronted by the Joker because he wants to kill the, but they all refuse to help, putting a bounty on him. The Joker kills Gambol, and his gang go under his control, and meanwhile Batman, with new technology supplied by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), has found and returned Lau to Gotham to testify in a court case to help bring down the gangsters. The Joker puts his plan into action by threatening the city, if the Dark Knight does not reveal his true identity he will kill people, and soon enough he starts killing the people involved in the mob boss court cases, including Commissioner Loeb (The Fast Show's Colin McFarlane) and Judge Surrillo (Nydia Rodriguez Terracina), and Dent may be next. Dent is hidden, and Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who has been dating Dent is being looked after by Bruce's faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth (Sir Michael Caine), but the Joker appears to kill Gordon, who sacrifices himself to save the Mayor (Nestor Carbonell), and when Bruce plans to reveal his identity to the press Dent claims he is the Batman. This means that the district attorney is taken into protective custody, but the Joker catches up and tries to kill him, but Batman inside his armoured car and then on his motorcycle is on their tail, and Gordon who faked his death catches the criminals, and gets promoted to Commissioner. Batman demands to know from the clown prince of crime where Dent and Rachel are, as they have disappeared, and eventually, after some beating, he reveals that they are both in separate buildings full of explosives, Batman planned to find Rachel, but he instead gets to Dent, so Rachel is blown up and dies, while Dent is taken out, but petrol on half his face ignites when the explosion happens. Using documents, Wayne Enterprises accountant Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) has concluded that Bruce Wayne is Batman, so he plans blackmail, and meanwhile the Joker has escaped prison and kills Lau and the Chechen, and he threatens to bomb a hospital if Reese isn't killed. While the accountant is rescued by Gordon, the Joker visits Dent in hospital, who has become scarred on half his face and donned the persona of Two-Face, he tells him that the mob is responsible for the death of Rachel and convinces him to get revenge, on a coin flip decision. Gotham General Hospital was blown up, while Two-Face manages to find and kill Maroni and two corrupt cops who helped kidnap Rachel, and the Joker has rigged two ships, one carrying civilian passengers and the other Arkham Asylum inmates, with explosives, and both sets of people have the trigger for the opposite ship, with the demand to blow up the other ship before midnight, or both be exploded. With the help of Fox and a computer as a citywide tracking device, they manage to find where the Joker is, in a building, where hostages are wearing clown masks to look like criminals to the SWAT, but they are saved, both ships refuse to blow up each other, and the Joker despite being caught boasts that he has won when Dent's rampage will be revealed. Gordon is lured to the building where Rachel died where his wife and children are being held hostage, and Dent is threatening their lives from the flip of his coin, and after being shot while wearing body armour Batman tackles Dent, causing him to fall from the top of the building to the ground, and saving Gordon's son. So that Dent will remain a symbol of hope for Gotham City, Batman wants to take responsibility for the deaths of the people Dent murdered, Gordon is upset but is forced to agree, so he orders a manhunt for Batman, while Alfred spares Bruce anymore heartache by burning a letter that Rachel wrote announcing her engagement to Harvey, and Fox sees the tracking computer self-destruct. Also starring Monique Gabriela Curnen as Ramirez, Ron Dean as Wuertz, Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow aka Dr. Jonathan Crane, William Fichtner as Bank Manager and The Fifth Element's Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as Tattooed Prisoner. Bale is still fantastic as the silly playboy and the rough and ready dark hero, Ledger is fascinating as the psychopathic and intelligent scar-faced villain (the licking of lips is a great psycho touch), Eckhart is alright as the slowly maddened political figure turned Two-Face, and the other cast members are good too. Just with the previous film the story is much more grown up and sophisticated compared to the previous incarnations, the make-up is good, and of course the explosions and special effects used create many more exciting chase and fight sequences, a cool and entertaining action fantasy. It won the Oscar for Best Sound Editing, and it was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, and it was nominated the BAFTAs for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Make Up & Hair, Best Music for Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Special Visual Effects. Very good!