A Dark, Intelligent movie. And the best comic book movie ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2008)

Batman vs The Joker.
Of all the villains in Batman history, The Joker is the most famous. And, as was teased at the end of Batman Begins, he takes his bow here in what is the darkest, intelligent, action packed superhero movie ever made.
Written by Christopher Nolan, along with his brother Jonathan and from a story idea from David S. Goyer, The Dark Knight is a movie bursting at the seams with ideas and plots. Christopher Nolan cited the movie HEAT as a major influence on The Dark Knight and that can clearly be seen. This movie is not simply dominated by Batman or The Joker. There are other plots going on here. Lt. Gordon trying to do the best he can with cops who may be working for him and the mobsters in Gotham. Harvey Dent, the new DA is beginning a crusade to clean Gotham up. Bruce Wayne see Dent as an opportunity to get out of being Batman if Dent manages to clean the city up. As for the Joker, well he simply wants to bring law and order crashing down. And destroy the Batman in the process.
Let's begin with the obvious. Heath Ledger is sensational as The Joker. It's a performance that dominates the movie. His origin is never explained. He simply exists to bring chaos to Gotham. He is in many ways Batman's opposite. Ledger completely looses himself in the role, and blows away the performance of Jack Nicholson from Burton's Batman movie.
But as good as Ledger is, Bale is just as good. Trying to understand a man like the Joker, and hoping to give up the Batman role and bet it all on Dent, Bale excels. He allows some humour in some scenes as Bruce Wayne (which I didn't think he got in Begins). And again as Batman he terrorizes the mob. However, he discovers that the Joker isn't as easy to intimidate as so-called normal villains.
Gary Oldman gets more to do here than he did in Begins. And he's more than up to the task. James Gordon is a rare character in the Batman mythology. He's one of the few human characters who has no hidden agenda. He's a good cop trying his best in a city where no-one can seem to trust anyone else. His scenes with Batman here, and before in Begins, are very impressive. Unlike portrayals of the character before, he doesn't go running to the Batman anytime there is a problem. He's a cop and will do his job. In many ways, I've always felt he's the one man Batman respects over anyone else. And it's refreshing to see the relationship that is strong in the comic books being dealt with properly here.
However the key performance here, is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. A man determined to clean-up his city. He gradually crumbles under the chaos that surrounds him. In fact, his tragedy as he falls from being the so-called 'White Knight' DA, to becoming the Two-Face character is the standout role here. His fate, foretold in a key line near the beginning, 'you die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself becoming the villain', could apply to most characters here. Dent becoming Two-Face, the Batman forced to become the hero that Gotham needs, but no deserve, Gordon forced to work with cops he can't fully trust.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking over from Katie Holmes, gives a good performance as Rachel Dawes as a woman torn between two men, Dent and Wayne. It's her fate that will ultimately decide the destiny of certain characters in the movie.
Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, the man who runs Wayne Industries for Bruce Wayne gives another excellent performance. He becomes almost a Q-like figure for Bruce Wayne. Michael Caine provides some much needed humour in the movie as Alfred.
But this is a dark movie. Here in the UK, it's been giving a 12-A certificate. That means under 12 children can get into see it as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Some of the violence here, is brutal in places, and the make-up effects including the Two-Face make up may be a bit much for some younger children. It's also a long movie, 152 minutes. There are a couple of sequences that I feel could have been trimmed to tighten the movie up (including the impressive Hong Kong sequence).
Nolan who did well handling the action in Begins, has even bigger set-pieces here and shows he's maturing as an action director. The opening robbery scene is very tightly shot. There is a brilliant sequence involving a lorry chasing a cop vehicle through the city. Only in the final confrontation do you get a little lost in the action, as Batman has to fight not only the Joker's men but cops too.
But the most tense packed sequence in the movie is the two ferry dilemma. In some ways this scene shows that there may be hope for Gotham, even if it will take a long time to feel safe there.
Nolan and his cast and crew have taken the comic book movie to a completely new level. This movie has more intelligent ideas than most movies, certainly of this kind, and while there is a trace of hope at the end of the movie, you don't get a happy ending. In this, the comparison to The Empire Strikes Back is fair. This is a darker movie than Batman Begins is, and while it is very enjoyable and brilliantly made, just don't expect to come out feeling good.
Is it the best summer blockbuster this year? Certainly. Is it better than Batman Begins? Yes. Is it the best comic book movie ever? Without a doubt.