Nolan's Genius!

Rating: 7/10 (9 August 2008)

Amazing! Spectacular! IMDb no. 1! These words constitute only a part of most movie-related conversations over the past 3 weeks. The Dark Knight has beaten all expectations, broken all box-office records, earned critical acclaim and most importantly, has brought a huge smile to Batman fans everywhere. But, under all the hype, stripped off all the media attention and the huge spotlight placed on it by Heath Ledger's sad demise, how good IS The Dark Knight?
The darkest version of Batman yet starts off with Joker robbing a bank. At the end of the scene, the Joker is probably established as THE person to watch through the movie. The 'new' Joker is definitely refreshing to see, as unlike past versions, Nolan's Joker doesn't play any campy, cheesy pranks. Neither does he waste his time with silly props. The Joker in The Dark Knight is as much a villain as Jack the Ripper was a serial killer. The story then slows down a bit, with action packed sequences popping in just at the right moments to make sure you don't get too lost just listening to the Mob drab on. Scarecrow is quickly (and quite rudely) pushed aside and within the hour, Harvey Dent is introduced as Rachel's new hubby (Beats Spideman 3 where Venom was introduced minutes before he died). Morgan Freeman gets a larger and much more prominent role as Lucius Fox and as is the case with Morgan Freeman, when he shoots a scene, the attention is going to be on him! That is, Lucius Fox ends up stealing Bruce Wayne's thunder quite a few times.
The 'real' story starts when Joker decides to dedicate himself towards one mission - Batman's death. Like an alarm bell to wake those who managed to fall asleep during the slow bits, a corpse thuds onto the screen. Thus, begins the 'new' Joker's "jokes". Heath has brought a "REAL" element to the Joker that was missing in previous editions. Amazingly, Heath and Nolan have catapulted The Joker into Top 10 Villain lists while leaving The Joker as vague as possible. The various emotions he went through - smiling one second, anger the next, lust for pain and then expressionless - left most of the audience not knowing what to make of the Joker. The joker's mysteriousness, coupled with his insane (also meaning awesome) methods of 'serial-killing' left most of the audience on the edge of their seats. Oscar worthy? Win? Probably not, but a role that breathes life into a fading character should stand a good chance. Nomination? Definitely.
However, for me, the real star of the movie was Aaron Eckhart. His portrayal of Harvey Dent was so real, picturing him as anything but a District Attorney seems almost impossible. He seemed to add something real to each scene he was in, whether he was battling Wayne, or supporting Batman, or just being your friendly neighbourhood DA, Harvey Dent seemed to be much more than a 'supporting' actor. However, his turn as Two Face towards the end of the movie slightly 'Dented' his performance. He seemed a little 'awkward' as Two Face, unsure whether to play him full of emotion or leave him as a stoic character. The coin toss though added yet another element to an already wonderful film.
The rest of the cast - Bale played a good Batman, but was clearly outshone by his supporting cast (Dent & Joker). Rachel Dawes - Oh my God! Her topsy-turvy love life left possibly the only blemish on an otherwise perfect film. Excellent acting, horrible storyline for poor Rachel. Lucius Fox - Would definitely prefer him in a smaller role, as he kinds of takes 'away' spotlight from the others, even when he doesn't need it. Michael Caine played an impeccable Alfred! The Mob also played their roles well with the exception of a few and didn't take anything away from the film.
Nolan's genius, last but definitely not least, has to be appreciated most of all. To take a movie franchise that had been beaten into oblivion by probably the most awfully made movie (Batman & Robin), with horrible direction and even worse costumes, Nolan has managed to turn Batman back into a real 'superhero'. Starting with Batman Begins, Nolan has perfected every scene till it couldn't be perfected anymore. And the absence of CGI, not only provides a 'real' look to the film, but makes it tons more amazing.
So for me the cast would be rated: Nolan (Director)>Dent>Joker>Batman/Bruce Wayne>Alfred>Fox>Dawes
Lastly, lots of people believe undue credit may have gone Batman's way thanks to Ledger's death. Sure, it may have exaggerated some views, but The Dark Knight altogether is really not that bad a movie at all. Really, not bad at all! All in all, an amazing film, definitely one of the top 20 I have ever seen and possibly the only one to leave ALL the characters engraved in the viewer's mind. Kudos to Nolan and crew!