Darker than dark. And that's pretty dark.

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2008)

A much-hyped movie, but rightly so. So far I've hated that posterboy Heath Ledger with all my little black heart, but I have to hand it to him here: he really can act. Wow. I take back everything I've said about "A Knight's Tale", Heath, especially about the symbolism of men attacking each other with penis-like contraptions, for I was blind to your genius! Ironic that "The Dark Knight" turned out to be his penultimate film ... but what a way to go.
OK, let's cut to the chase: the movie is very impressive in its first half, and possibly a perfect ten. But when Harvey Dent switches sides, it goes haywire. I couldn't really follow the plot anymore, much stopped making sense and was bull (the scene with the two ships that can blow each other up), and there was just a general air of suckiness. It's not terrible, but it did detract from the movie.
Part of the problem with Bat- and Superman movies is that the whole idea of being Bat- or Superman makes a lot more sense in a comic book. In a movie, this boyish fantasy comes across as rather gay, especially that Bruce Wayne character with his butler and his fixation on must-have gadgets. And all his relationships with women are platonic and he keeps a toy-boy named "Robin". Could it be any more obvious? That's why they had the good sense to downplay Batman and hand the leading part to the much more modern and intriguing Joker. And they really made the most of that role. This Joker will stay in your mind for a long time. A newspaper columnist wrote that this Joker is a reflection of the type of self-sufficient and excessive aggression used by modern terrorists such as Al Quaida, and I agree.
I'm just a bit worried about the message of "a good leader must lie for the greater good, the public must be fooled", especially in an election year. Maybe the makers were trying to tell us something here?
On a side note, I'd never have recognised Gary Oldman, one of my favourite thesps! When the titles rolled, I was like, where was he? Who was he?
Anyway, a great movie for kid and intellectual alike. And clearly the best Batman movie ever! To be seen at a good cinema. For the love of god, don't wait for this to come out on DVD!