Great Film

Rating: Null/10 (23 December 2008)

Dark Knight, The (2008)
**** (out of 4)
I'll be honest and admit that I'm not much of a fan of the so called "comic book" movies out there. I'll also be honest and admit that I didn't care for the previous series of Batman movies from Burton and Schumacher. Batman Begins on the other hand was a different story as it found it to be incredibly good but a rare occasion as occurred as this sequel is even better. I've always felt that comic book movies didn't contain enough elements of a dark nature nor did they contain very much adult-themed stuff but that's certainly not the case here as this movie contains enough character development and moral questions for three movies. The epic nature of this movie makes it a one of a kind even though I think the 151-minute running time is the only fault in the film. It's rather amazing at how dark this movie is yet movie crowds ate it up but perhaps they ate so much of it up simply because of how dark it is. This film works on so many levels but I think the biggest are its screenplay and actors. The darkness of the story is perfectly brought to the screen by Nolan with his masterful direction, which paints the perfect picture of corruption, greed and moral responsibility. All of the characters from The Joker to Harvey Dent to even Batman must face various moral issues and this type of stuff not only makes for great drama but it brings a lot of depth to this "comic book" movie. The performances are all quite remarkable and that includes the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. Before seeing the film I kept asking myself if his performance could top that of Jack Nicholson but I think that question shouldn't even be asked as both performances are so completely different that you can't compare them. Ledger certainly steals the show and leaves the viewer with goose bumps each time he's on the screen. It really seems as if he just floats through each scene as if he were a ghost roaming around. The walk that Ledger brings to the character is so refreshing and original that I couldn't take my eyes off of him. That wonderful talk and the brilliant line giving just adds to the fun and was it ever great to see such a dark villain. Christian Bale is also once again very good in the role of Bruce Wayne and Batman. Again, the screenplay benefits Bale greatly by having him just as dark as the villains. Aaron Eckhart is getting overshadowed by Ledger but he too really deserves a lot of credit as he probably gives the best performance of anyone dealing with the moral issues. His stint as Dent is perfect for a hero and his turn as Two-Face is perfect for a villain. Maggie Gyllenhaal also does a good job in the love interests role as does Michael Caine, Eric Roberts and Morgan Freeman. Gary Oldman also shines in his role of Gordon. What makes the special effects so great is that the movie isn't in their hand as far as entertainment goes. Yes, the effects and chase sequences look great but they work even better because the screenplay gives us characters to care about. I won't go as far as to call this one of the greatest films ever made but I do think it has to change the way comic book movies are made.