A Dark Triumph

Rating: 10/10 (23 July 2008)

"This town deserves a better class of criminal...and I'm gonna give it to them."
Just as the Joker gives us a better class of criminal, so does Christopher Nolan give us a better class of superhero movie. The Dark Knight separates itself from the rest of the comic-book movies by giving us real drama, mystery, and characters to believe in. The story is also brilliant and totally believable. While the other 2008 blockbusters(e.g. Iron Man, Prince Caspian, Indy Jones) were too busy giving us non-stop action and CGI, this movie really focuses on great dialogue and character development to carry the film. That isn't to say that there is no action in TDK, there is actually plenty of thrilling scenes for any action fan. But it is just the right amount and very well-balanced.
Moving on, the acting in TDK is simply superb. Christian Bale is now officially the definitive caped crusader. He made us really understand what Batman/Bruce Wayne goes through and how he deals with the emotional roller-coaster of being a great hero in such a corrupt city. Aaron Eckhart does a similarly great job as Harvey Dent. He plays the role very seriously(unlike Tommy Lee Jones), and delivers some of the great, key lines in the entire film. Also, Maggie Gylenhaal is a better fit than Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. And of course, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman are all wonderful as always. But the all-time great performance that everyone will remember is Heath Ledger as the Joker. In my book, Heath Ledger's Joker has now entered the discussion for the greatest movie villain of all time. He can go from being funny in his own twisted way to bone-chillingly menacing in a split-second. Everything from his voice and laugh to his walk and psychotic motions are simply brilliant. I will not compare him to Jack Nicholson's Joker because there is no comparison.
As mentioned before, the screenplay is wonderfully written and has given us many more classic and memorable lines. The tone of the film was darker and more intense than I expected. Nevertheless, it works for the whole, epic running time of 2 hrs. 32 minutes. In addition, the action sequences are some of the most thrilling scenes of the year; mostly because they are very realistic and done without much CGI. I stand up and applaud Nolan for filming real explosions and creating a realistic and plausible Gotham City. Even when there was CGI, it wasn't even noticeable. The only criticisms I have are the loose ends that Nolan fails to tie. He leaves the viewer hanging on multiple instances, which I will not mention due to spoilers. However, I have no problem with this if Nolan decides to clear everything up with a third film.
As a result, the film really captured my imagination in no way any other comic-book movie has. It is very refreshing for a picture of this scale to feature Oscar-worthy drama, dialogue, and performances. Heath Ledger truly gives us a legendary performance worth the price of any movie ticket alone. I am happy to say that the Dark Knight plays like a crime drama that ranks right up there with great films like White Heat and Touch of Evil. Once again, I applaud Chris Nolan for giving us the best and most well-crafted sequel in years.