Christian Perspective

Rating: 10/10 (3 February 2010)

Review of: The Dark Knight Director Christopher Nolan certainly did not cease to amaze his audience with this film. I was at first skeptical as to whether he would be able to trump his first film in the series, Batman Begins; however, Christopher proved that my apprehensions were misplaced.
The cinematography in this film was spectacular. The wide angle, sweeping views of both Hong Kong and Gotham were astounding. They allowed the viewer to see that these characters did not live in a bubble, where their actions had no effect on others around them; but rather that they were part of their respective cities and their actions had consequences, very much true to life. The special effects also left nothing to be wanted. The pyrotechnics and stunts left me gazing at the screen just trying to take in every detail.
While everyone was aware of the blatantly obvious cast switch concerning the character Rachel Dawes, I did not think it hindered the progression of the movie. Typically, such a blatant cast change severely detracts from the quality of a movie, however, Maggie Gyllenhaal did an excellent job taking Katie Holmes' position and dare I say, even played the part to a better degree.
Christian Bale played, what I believe to be, the best Batman to date. Growing up I thought George Clooney and Val Kilmer, the Batmen from my day, never did justice to the character or portrayed him as he should be. While the voice modulation was over done, the darkness portrayed in the new caped crusader fulfilled the part that was severely lacking.
I also thought Aaron Eckhart played an astounding Harvey Dent/ Two-Face. As a good guy, he was admirable, but after the Joker finished with him, you could feel his writhing anger, pain, and wickedness. His quest for retribution struck a cord in me. His quote, "It's not about what I want, it's about what's fair" reminded me of many of the complaints society, myself included, make on a daily basis. We feel we are entitled to fairness on some level. However, the Bible says that if we truly wanted fairness we would spend eternity in Hell paying for our sin. This is a sobering truth when I catch myself complaining about fairness.
Of course, no discussion on this case is complete without mention of Mr. Ledger's performance. Heath Ledger's performance was every bit worthy of the Oscar he was awarded. He truly brought the role of the Joker to life and captivated his audience with his ability to play the villain in this film. The audience did not hesitate to believe him when he told Batman at the end of the movie that they were going to be locked in their battle forever. He truly was the perfect opposite to the hero in this film and his acting ability will be missed.
The musical scores selected for this film greatly added to the viewing experience and played on the audience's emotions. The climactic periods were significantly enhanced by the dramatic composition changes during the film.
While this film was an astounding two and a half hours it kept you attention for the entire duration. What you thought was the movie concluding ended up only deepening the plot and setting the stage for the rise of Two-Face.
Morality permeates the overtones of this film. The whole plot, in essence, is to make the case that Gotham is changing and has some good people in it. The Joker tries to raze this concept by proving that "Civilized people are only as good as the world allows them to be." As it relates to real life, the Joker has a point. Unless people are living for something bigger than they are, everyone will have a breaking point.
This film never gets old; it will keep its audience on the edge of their seats viewing after viewing. It was not my intention to draw "Christian" themes from this movie (I can't stand it when people attempt to do that from any media). It was merely my intention to provide a review from a Christian who enjoys good movies.