A satisfactory improvement on Batman Begins.

Rating: 7/10 (24 July 2008)

I must say I went into this movie with low expectations as I was pretty disappointed with Batman Begins. As I do not really want to nit-pick or write a novel on the reasons why I didn't think much of Batman begins, I'll skip that and tell you what I liked about The Dark Knight: Quite simply, The JOKER! Best villain of the new millennium in my opinion! I don't want to give anything away for the people who haven't yet seen this film but let's just say the Joker is a true psychopathic killer. No boundaries, no remorse, just a cold blooded lunatic brilliantly portrayed by Heath Ledger in the best role I have ever seen him in. I now have a new found respect for Heath, he truly is a talented and gifted actor.
Also really good in this film was Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent but once again I won't specify any details as I do not want to spoil anything. I must say I also preferred Maggie Gylanhall in the role of Rachel as poised to the average Katie Holmes.
My major beef with this film sadly is Batman! Now don't get me wrong, I think Christian Bale is a really talented actor but unfortunately for me it doesn't work with his Batman persona. For one, the voice is stupid and he sounds like a wrestler when he speaks and I could barely make out what he was saying. Another annoying thing he would do was stick his lips out really strangely when he was in the Bat suit.....why????? This is really unfortunate because the whole point in seeing a Batman film is to see Batman!!! If you don't agree with the portrayal of the main character, it's very hard to fully enjoy and appreciate the film.
I may be old school but I must say I prefer the Tim Burton versions! Not the Joel Schumacher ones though, they are stupid and childish. Another problem I have with this film is the "shakey-camera" style of filming for the action sequences throughout the film. This technique makes it very hard to see what's actually going on and when I watch a fight scene, I like to see exactly what's happening and I want to see every punch or kick connect instead of blurry-flashy images! It's a shame that this way of filming has become so popular in Hollywood in the last decade.
Still, The Dark Knight is definitely worth seeing as it is still a great superhero blockbuster! But don't let all the media hype blow it out of preportion for you because in reality, it's not THAT great.