Slightly Overrated but still Classy!!!

Rating: 9/10 (20 December 2009)

Now don't get me wrong...i would like to make it absolutely clear that TDK is one of my favorite films and i have been thrilled every time i have watched it. But still i feel that it is slightly overrated due to the fact that it is rated above some many classic movies like LOTR, Indiana Jones, Matrix which are far better in every aspect than TDK.
***SPOILERS***TDK starts off brilliantly with a brutal bank robbery by a band of jokers. One by one each member of the band is killed until the real joker remains who takes away all the loot disappearing in a host of school buses. The opening scene tells you that you are in for a grand treat. The story then plunges into the ongoing battle between the mob and lawmakers for domination over Gotham City. However, the one factor that has taken the mob by storm is the Dark Knight. Christian Bale has returned to play the iconic superhero with such oozing confidence that half an hour into the movie you feel like you are watching a real character called Batman fighting criminals with ease and a brutal savageness that is almost inspiring. He has got an answer to every plan of the mafia...they seem helpless before the caped crusader until the Joker arrives on the scene.
What ensues next is probably the greatest confrontation between two characters ever filmed in the history of cinema. The Joker single-handedly wreckes the law and order of entire Gotham City and sends an open challenge to Batman. This is certainly Heath Ledger's greatest performance winning him an award. This is the role that has catapulted him into the history books for eternity. He managed to remove the focus from Batman and for the first time, I have seen this happening that in a theater people are crying for the bad guy to come back on screen rather than watching good guy. Such sheer entertainment in a negative character is no mediocre effort.
However, despite the tremendous fireworks and awe-inspiring battle of wits between Batman and Joker the film drags on a little at the end. The greatest moment of the film when Batman captures the Joker in a thrilling chase sequence that easily beats the one in Matrix Reloaded as well as the one in Batman Begins arrives way before the end and after that the film sort of loses its way slightly. Bale appeared confused during that brief phase. The film picks up again once the Joker escapes from prison. However, it then appears a drawn out affair especially because the ending is not as impressive and seems rather repetitive. The Joker is again arrested as he was earlier in the film. It felt like a two-episode series consisting of two different destruction scenarios created by the Joker and Batman saving the day on both occasions. Certainly, the Joker was defeated more comprehensively the second time round when he was not able to induce fear in the people of Gotham City but his capture was weak and lacked the ingenuity of the breathtaking chase sequence. In short the ending felt a little diffused and did not went on to epic proportions as was promised in the beginning of the film.
I think this sort of thing tends to happen in those films when the director exhausts the greatest moment of the film rather early. The viewers get really excited after that great moment and sit back with greater attention expecting something better and even more enormous to take place in the end. And when the end is a little feeble it feels like the movie fell down. This is the reason why certain film-makers invest heavily in the ending so that the people tend to leave on a high. Batman Begins was better in this regard but overall TDK was a much better movie technically and storywise.
Harvey Dent (also Two-Face) was used brilliantly in the film. All the other cast people were as usual with strong performances. Bale was trying to take up the space left over by the mammoth performance by Heath Ledger.
Nolan's direction is brilliant in the way he is able to handle the tension prevailing in the city without getting too clichÃ©d. It doesn't seem like a superhero movie. It is a real movie with a real situation. There are some intelligent scenes and it allows the user to draw conclusions on their own without spoon feeding them every detail. This really makes the viewers engrossed in whatever is happening on the screen.
This movie is certainly one of the best movies of all time but a tad bit lower than some other really pathbreaking movies.