Great, but it drags on, and tails off at the end a bit.

Rating: Null/10 (15 August 2008)

Batman: The Dark Knight ****
You've heard me say it before, but I'll say it again: Hooray for Mamma Mia! For there was a movie which knew exactly what it was. It knew its genre and its purpose. So many recent movies fail to do this and unfortunately, despite its obvious qualities, "The Dark Knight" is among them. Apart from the apparent irrelevance of the title, (The phrase "Dark Knight" is used twice at maximum, and even then it is difficult to understand why it is being said or who, in fact the Dark Knight actually is,) the film does retain an absolutely intriguing power throughout. The power of a number of stunning performances, (Aaron Eckhart and the late Heath Ledger providing particularly chilling and enjoyable entertainment) blended with a gripping storyline made for a movie with the potential to be a classic. At first glance, the film has everything a modern Hollywood action movie should. A star cast, great action scenes, believable special effects, a female lead who is headstrong and intelligent and at the same time fairly boring, (What is it with these comic book action movies where the lead always has to be a curvy intelligent person with a round face who dresses nicely and says clever stuff but doesn't ever seem to do much; replace Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman with Maggie Gyllenhaal in Batman, can you see the difference?) a superhero and a terrifying bad guy. And I must say, it was a very enjoyable movie but I could not help but feel a little disappointed as I walked out of the cinema. Once again, a film hits the screen which appears to be confused as to quite what genre it is. of course, it is an action thriller, and if it was simply that, then it would have been an utterly fantastic movie, but the main character hinders that slightly. The movie is about Batman. Batman is a character from comic strips. He's a child's hero. And yet the movie is set in a city which is basically New York. (yeah, Gotham City, I know but come on, it's New York, we all know it is) Batman looks so out of place in the beaten up car parks and mean streets of the real modern criminal underworld with his funny ears and his wings it becomes comical; I mean, come on guys, superheroes who base themselves on animals are so 20th century. Look what it did for Toby MacGuire, he struggled to defeat an enemy who was essentially a green version of Gollum on a flying skateboard. My point is that old comic book superheroes in modern setting doesn;t work. Especially when said superhero talks like Chewbacca with a sore throat. Like I said, it's more comical than cool. Another disappointment was the end. Or rather, the lack of it. With the tension built up to bursting point with freaky Heath Ledger on the verge of killing everyone in New York (I mean Gotham City, obviously) and everything in chaos we're expecting a great ending, with the good guys turning it around against all odds. And sure enough, Batman goes and kicks Ledger's arse, but then what? he saves him? Oh,, Batman's too noble to kill in cold blood (some superhero) and The Joker teases him about it, while dangling in the air. So, we're all thinking whats going to happen next? This is amazing! Actually what happens next is that Batman goes and saves Aaron Eckhart from ruining everything he once was and saves a cop's life in the process. Ah, good ol' Batman, we're thinking, now go and kick some Joker arse. And this is where the movie falls apart. Batman doesn't go and deal with the bad guy. He runs away, pretending he was the bad guy, so that Aaron Eckhart's legacy remains untainted. Aaaw how noble, but what about the rest of the story? It was as if the cinema had accidentally turned the movie off five minutes early. It didn;t even seem like you were meant to draw your own conclusion as a viewer, just like the film didn't finish properly. Once again though, I will now totally contradict myself and admit that the movie was very very good, the acting was sublime, the story was gripping and a little tragic (if inconclusive) and I do think it is worth seeing.
Best Quote: The Joker: Let's turn the clocks back. A year ago, these cops and lawyers wouldn't dare cross any of you. I mean, what happened? Did your - did your balls drop off? Hmm?
Best Bit: The Interrogation Room scene with Batman and The Joker
Worst Bit: The very end.
Look out for: Christian Bale's ability to drop his balls a bit further every time he wears the batman suit, and to go back to pre-pubescence every time he takes it off.