When The Dark Knight goes beyond

Rating: 8/10 (26 April 2011)

In 2005, filmmaker Christopher Nolan took the superhero movies to a new level with Batman Begins, a film that gave Batman the dimension required: an obscure , prey to his traumas who decides to clean Gotham City of evil, thus establishing a parameter that seemed difficult to overcome, and yet the sequel, The Dark Knight transcends it and reaches new heights in which goes beyond the "comic-book adaptation" label to make a film closer to the Scorsesian tradition or to the police dramas made during the 70's.
In this new story, Batman continues his fight against the mafia in Gotham supported by commissioner Jim Gordon and the new district attorney Harvey Dent. But a threat looms over Gotham in the figure of The Joker, a minor criminal who begins to climb the criminal pyramid with its lack of scruples and his twisted mind does not stop him to get rid of whoever stands in his way. This is how Bruce Wayne begins to question the not only the thin line that separates him from the justice and acting under their own rules, but also how far can he go in order to stop a rising and very dangerous evil.
Needless to say, Nolan's vision for the Batman saga is cruel, violent and dark. However, this time takes the limit (just like the actions of the characters in the story) thanks to the presence of the Joker played by the late Heath Ledger, who created a villain for the ages (who also won the Oscar for this performance). Without doubt one of the most powerful villains of the last years and possibly a defining performance of the 00's.
But the rest of the cast also deserves attention: Maggie Gyllenhaal (who effectively replaces Katie Holmes), Michael Caine as Alfred, Bruce Wayne's unconditional butler, and especially Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, the prosecutor who promises to restore peace to Gotham and Gary Oldman as the chief Gordon.
Visually Nolan has created a film that will be taken as a reference not only for movie adaptations from comic-books but also for action films, by achieving spectacular scenes superbly filmed thanks to Nolan's team of excellent collaborators (Lee Smith in the editing, Wally Pfister in the cinematography, etc.) who have the ability to have the audience at the edge of their seat.
Nolan has set a very high standard and we'll see if he's able to top it when The Dark Knight rises in 2012