The Dark Knight Movie Review

Rating: 7/10 (5 September 2008)

Before going to see The Dark Knight, I had heard a lot of rumors about how easily this movie had surpassed the hype around it. Yet, I didn't take all those favorable reviews for granted and decided to see the movie for myself without knowing that I was going to be in for a special treat by Christopher Nolan.
Somehow, the director himself managed to keep the audience both entertained and thrilled during the two and a half hour duration of the whole movie, which I highly appreciate because only a director in full possession of his senses could deliver such a quick yet coherent story of the superhero we all praise.
It would be a huge shortcoming not to say anything about the acting, especially which of Heath Ledger as the Joker. I wasn't surprised the least bit to see Heath, who played one hell of a character, steal all the spotlight from other characters whichever scenes he was in. He kept the tension accumulating slowly with his ability to face everything in a creepily calm way as if he was the mastermind behind the whole plan supposedly developed by the police force. The story went flowingly due to the Joker's plan to turn Gotham into chaos, Heath did such an unconventionally perfect portrayal of the Joker that all the audience kept finding their jaws dropped throughout the entire movie. However, in one or two scenes,the Joker was taken by utter surprise; such as when he thought the citizens of Gotham city would turn their backs at each other and pressed the button triggering a deafening explosion to save their own lives on the ferryboat; but they didn't because no matter how chaotic the situation they were in, they did realize that everyone is human being and no human being should risk other people's lives to save their own.
Christian Bale as the Batman also did fulfill his role as the protagonist, the superhero of the movie. Batman himself has two identities: the playboy millionair and the man behind the batsuit always ready to fight against the evil. The complexity of the character's inner feelings requires not only a great but also sensitive actor to truly understand it and, fortunately, Christian Bale acts as if he were born for the role, born to be Batman. For many moments, viewers were feeling so insecure about the menacing Joker with his malicious laughter that something credible had to be done to put their minds at rest, and that was when Batman appeared. No one else other than Batman can confront the Joker, and like Joker said, Batman completed him. And no one else other than Christian Bale has enough whatever it is that makes Batman to make a comic character so alive.
Christopher Nolan's knack for storytelling techniques paid off quite well in this second installment of the brand new Batman series. He is gifted in keeping us viewers at the edge of our seats, guessing and predicting what was coming around the corner while the plot unveiled deliberately. For a moment for two, I thought I knew what was to happen the next scene but the unprecedented plot twists insisted on proving me wrong. Christopher Nolan is known for his scenes of intertwinement of past and present timeline and this trademark move of his adapts perfectly to the end of the movie. A movie this great doesn't hit theatre everyday, so make sure you have already booked a ticket for the earliest showtime in the nearest movie theatre. I salute you, the Dark Knight crew.