A good, if flawed, movie

Rating: 7/10 (25 February 2014)

After seeing the Dark Knight I had mixed feelings about the films. Some parts blew it out of the park and were brilliant-others not so much.
The story concerns Batman (Christian Bale) fighting anarchist the Joker (Heath Ledger) alongside DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and police captain James Gordon (Gary Oldman)
First the good stuff. The acting in this film is overall very strong. Heath Ledgers performance has already been talked to death and he is excellent in the role. My only real problem is I do like a more charismatic Joker with the bright suits (a more devilish laugh would've been appreciated) but this portrayal suits the tone of film better than the more flamboyant approach. Surprisingly Ledger is only in 33 minutes but leaves such an impression you can't not be impressed by his performance.
The other actor worth talking about is the criminally underrated Aaron Eckhart. Harvey Dent/Two-Face has long been my favourite character and after Tommy Lee Jones's disappointing portrayal this is fantastic. Dent has the most interesting story arc in the film with it culminating in his psychotic madness at the end as the deformed Two-Face. Its a shame the character was killed off as Eckhart brilliantly portrays both a fallen hero and a deranged lunatic. The CGI/makeup on him is also fantastic-Nolans team did a great job bringing the character off the page.
Gary Oldman is always great and here is no exception. Other notable cast members includes some great monologues by Micheal Caine, and some welcome humour from Morgan Freeman. After Katie Holmes less than stellar performance in Batman Begins we are instead given Maggie Gyllenhaal who is definite improvement. She also has some chemistry with Aaron Eckhart making their relationship more believable. Cillian Murphy also reprises his role as Scarecrow in a wonderful little cameo.
The plot is engaging and interesting even if it is to heavy handed at times with themes being used as monologues. Nevertheless the pacing is good and the dialogue sharp. The Jokers plan is maybe to well thought out but it doesn't distract you overall.
Christopher Nolan swaps out the ever infuriating shaky cam from Btamn Begins for some truly breathtaking action scenes. The bank robbery and the truck scene especially is the highlights of the film. The cinematography by Wally Pfister continues to impress and Nolan continues to proves himself to be a very talented director. Hans Zimmer also underscores the whole thing very well setting an unsettling tone.
The main problem with the film is Batman. He is boring. I give Christian Bale credit; he is clearly dedicated to the role. But he lacks the charisma needed for Bruce Wayne coming across as a bit awkward and wooden. However it's in the Batsuit where he really suffers- the voice he uses is beyond hilarious. Its so stupid, so out of place and difficult to understand no one could take him seriously. The suit he wears is not as good as the one in Batman Begins and that looked stupid anyway. The batmobile is still a tank which is the most noticeable thing you can travel in-how can you be in the shadows in a tank. When it transforms into the Bat cycle it is a much welcome change. The batcave is also absent which is a shame.
My other problem is the themes or rather how they are presented. Rather than let an actor subtly put across their feeling or motivation they are spelled out to you in lectures. The worst example is possibly the Joker and if it wasn't for Heath Ledger this would become very annoying very fast. The death of Two-Face at the end seems rushed and a poor decision on part of the film makers.
As a side note while its not a problem the film does change a lot of details and characters personalities from the comics. As with all the Batman movies it quite happily deviates from the source. Also if like me you don't buy into the more realistic style you may not be all that impressed. Gotham is even blander and boring here than in Batman Begins.
Overall a weak protagonist and a few script problems does not ruin a great cast, solid action and an engaging story.