A solid sequel

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 2008)

Nolan made a wise decision in separating The Dark Knight from Batman Begins in that he never tries to mimic it. While the dark and gritty feel of Begins is certainly prevalent in the sequel, Knight is its own film with its own story. It rarely, if ever, feels like Batman Begins 2.
It goes without saying that the performances are stellar, but I can't not praise the actors. Christian Bale is as he needs to be, as is Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman. Even though Maggie Gyllenhaal was cast due to Katie Holmes's inability to return, I think she was a necessary change in order to show Rachel's growth. Aaron Eckhart is always a joy to watch, and he certainly doesn't disappoint here. Heath Ledger deserves an Oscar; I'll leave it at that.
The story is fresh and full of conflict. It's almost as if Gotham is worse since Batman took on its corruption and saved it from annihilation. The absence of any threatening criminals gives the Joker room to stretch out and set the world on fire. He manages to plunge Gotham into anarchy like Ra's Al Gaul before him, but does it without a grand scheme. He is a lethal dose of impulsiveness and malevolence, a dog chasing cars with a bomb strapped to its back.
The music in this movie is haunting. There's the familiar (but not the same) theme from Begins, and the rest is new and frightening. I'm very pleased that Zimmer and Howard combined their musical talents and developed a new score instead of relying on the previous one.
My only complaint with The Dark Knight is that there's too much happening. Wayne's relationship with Rachel is muddied by Dent's presence, the remaining Gotham gangsters are trying to get back on top, the Joker is causing mayhem, the Joker is ousting the gangsters by their own means, Dent becomes Two-Face and goes on a murderous revenge tear... It's all done very well, which is why it pains me to complain, but it's just too damn much for one movie. It's easy to get lost.
Complaint aside, The Dark Knight is everything it should be. If you're one of the 10 people who haven't seen it, see it.