It Doesn't Get Darker than This!

Rating: 10/10 (17 March 2015)

"I choose chaos", says the Joker in one of the early scenes in the movie and those words sum up what's in store in The Dark Knight. Directed by the supremely talented Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight is a masterfully woven tale of anarchy and heroism that captivates you right from the opening scene.
The events of The Dark Knight take place a few months from where Batman Begins left off. Gotham City continues to be a lawless frontier where organized crime flourishes but billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) is warming to the idea that the city may have found a hero in district attorney Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart). Enter Heath Ledger as The Joker! Don't let the name cuckold you. This Joker is no circus clown! He has no background and his origins remain a mystery. He is, to be put simply, an anomaly in a world constantly striving to be normal. The Joker does what he does best: unleashing chaos on the streets of Gotham city. Batman on the other hand is trying his best to clean the scum off the streets of Gotham. It is this yin-yang relationship between the caped crusader and his lawless adversary that forms the crux of The Dark Knight.
Nolan manages to extract superlative performances from all his cast members. Christian Bale is solid and stoic as our caped crusader. Aaron Eckhart delivers a sterling performance. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine provide ample support. But it is Heath Ledger, playing the Joker with fire breathing abandon, who indisputably steals the show. Whether it's the opening scene where he's robbing a bank or when he's showing his little magic trick to the mob, Ledger shows how you need to be tightly wound up and totally in control even when delivering a crazy, out-of-control performance. As I had read somewhere – he plays Forrest Gump gone mad, but with élan!
To call it the best superhero movie of all time, would be the greatest disservice you could do to the genius of Christopher Nolan. The movie creates a place where good and evil — expected to battle it on — decide instead to get it on and dance. Brilliantly bleak and chillingly Gothic, The Dark Knight soars on the wings of Nolan's savage imagination!