The Dark Knight: A comic book film that doesn't feel like a comic book film

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2012)

Batman Begins rebooted the Batman series as a tale that's sadder and more violent than Tim Burton's or Joel Schumacher's films; such a radical change in style from the previous films (which emphasized a lot of Gothic settings and campy humor) could have been only done with a smart and talented director with lots of tricks under his sleeves; luckily, that director was found in British-born Christopher Nolan. It goes much deeper into Batman's past and origins, something that Burton only tried to do in Batman, and Schumacher didn't try at all. The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, preserves Nolan's vision of Batman, however it adds numerous features that only improve the film.
For one, it has brilliant actors. In Batman Begins, the biggest flaw was the actress who played Batman's love interest. This horrible actress was Katie Holmes. In The Dark Knight, that tiny mistake is rectified by replacing her with the more talented Maggie Gyllenhaal. There is also a fine addition of new cast members, including Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent and Heath Ledger (in his last role before he died, may he rest in peace) as the Joker. Finally, the great veteran actors from Batman Begins stay for the sequel; these actors are Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Batman's armorer, Michael Caine as Bruce Wayne's butler and closest confidant, Alfred, Gary Oldman as Police Lieutenant James Gordon, and Christian Bale as Batman, also known as Bruce Wayne.
When the film starts, the Joker, along with a group of henchmen, head out to a bank owned by the mob. They go to rob it, and in a weird turn of events, the Joker manipulates his minions into killing each other until only he is left, the sole survivor of the shootout.
Meanwhile, Batman, with the assistance of Lieutenant Gordon as well as D.A. Harvey Dent, are planning to completely take out the mob. Though at first suspicious and jealous of Dent, especially since he's the man dating Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), Bruce Wayne begins to form a friendship with the man after recognizing his honesty, even though he's still in love with Rachel himself. Wayne is tired of living his double life as Batman, and views Dent as Gotham's true hero and the heir apparent to take over Batman's position in the war on crime.
On the other hand, the meddling of Batman, Gordon, and Dent is taking a big toll on the mob. They form a temporary truce on how to fix the problem before it turns uncontrollable. The Joker offers his services in return for half of the mob's money; though they initially refuse, they ultimately accept the Joker's deal.
Just when victory's near for Batman and the law, the Joker arrives and makes a direct threat to Gotham: if Batman does not reveal himself to the public, people will die every day. As the body count escalates and more people turn on him, Batman pushes on, but the Joker's murderous spree slowly destroys his hope of a world without crime.
Acting, good. Story, brilliant. But what is the key component of a good superhero film? Action sequences. And despite executing the first two aspects perfectly, the chase and fighting scenes are the highlight of the entire film. To name a few examples, take the truck flipping over, or the opening heist sequence, or (in my opinion the best fight scene in the film) the scene where Batman fights Russian mobsters, dogs, impostors of himself, and the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy in a cameo appearance).
This is one of the greatest films of the decade, not to mention one of the best superhero films of all time. If you want to know why I like it so much, read this review. Again. Rated PG- 13. Four out of four stars.