A cracking piece of cinema

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2008)

So, THE DARK KNIGHT, the most legendary movie of 2008. I have seen it 4 times in the cinema, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
The storyline for those who don't know: After making Gotham a better place in the last episode, there's a new face in town, namely a Glasgow smile-wearing, Hyena-laughing anarchist psychopathic clown known only as "the Joker" who would clearly send Michael Myers running and squealing like a girl, and now has the mob licking his purple boots in desperation of the Batman. At the same time, the new DA Harvey Dent has appeared to clean up the town, but the Joker has other plans.
There is hardly a weak link in the entire performance. Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman (and downright scary when facing the Joker in the police station interview room), so dynamic that it's hard to believe it's that soprano kid from Empire of the Sun! Maggie Gyllenhaal fit into the role of Rachel Dawes seamlessly, Morgan Freeman as a sparky inventor always seems to lighten the mood when on screen by his wit and intelligence, and Michael Cane as Alfred (a legend in film history) is a fantastic mentor for Bruce. And of course, there's Gary Oldman going somewhat against his grain of playing bad guys by playing a father figure type character (though he did this well in Harry Potter) demonstrates his wide abilities in dramatic performance (especially towards the end with Harvey Dent).
Heath Ledger as the Joker seems at first an odd choice, considering his earlier roles, though his performance is one of the most charismatic, unpredictable and unhinged versions of the joker, and certainly my favourite. Rarely smiling, and much more down-to-earth than the other jokers, Nolan and Ledger have brought such an unrealistic character truly to life. Of course, the cartoon versions will do best for the purists, and Jack Nicholson was brilliant in performing as a funny bad guy in the 1989 Batman, and neither are better than each other, but Heath Ledger's joker is probably most appropriate for the current times, and certainly my favourite interpretation. Having said that, considering Heath's death through a moment of such sheer bad luck aggravates me and somewhat tarnishes my enjoyment of the movie, but once that has passed, people will be able to be absorbed by his character.
However, my praise lies mainly with Aaron Eckhart. Turned by the joker's actions from one man to a completely different one, Eckhart takes the role of Harvey Dent by storm. Rather than his character being an all out good guy or becoming a total villain, Eckhart makes you feel for his character when things go wrong, and totally transforms on screen.
The Dark Knight has a sad edge to it, not just by the real tragedy that underlies the film, but also by the bittersweet outcome at the end. It is not a perfect movie and has a totally different feel to Batman Begins, but for a superhero film that has been brought to life, it is truly an excellent cinematic work, and if you haven't seen it already, I would recommend you do so as soon as possible, so as not to miss out.