Positive Elements

Rating: 8/10 (23 September 2017)

The Dark Knight is a complex film with a myriad of messages. But at its most basic, the question it poses is this: To what lengths do good people go in order to conquer the worst sort of evil? Must they become a little evil themselves along the way? "You got rules!" a broken mob boss tells Batman. "The Joker—he's got no rules!" It's a pesky truism our heroes struggle with from the get-go. None of them escape unsullied. "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain," says Dent. But it's when they refuse to compromise that the movie soars.