The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero films.

Rating: 9/10 (20 September 2009)

In my opinion The Dark Knight is over-rated. It's not the best superhero film as some have said, but it is among the best. It's certainly better than Batman Begins though. The film follows Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale), District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and Police Commissioner James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and their struggles and journey in combating the new rising threat of a criminal who goes by the name of the Joker (Heath Ledger). Director Christopher Nolan's inspiration for the film was the Joker's comic book debut in 1940, and the 1996 series The Long Halloween, which retold Two-Face's origin.
The Dark Knight is equal parts superhero action flick and crime drama. The action scenes are some of the most exciting that I've seen in movies in quite some time. Nolan obviously set out to make a serious film, and he succeeded. The scenery is often stunning, the direction is solid, and there are no unintended goofy bits anywhere in the film (though there is a bit of humor here and there). Christian Bale in the role of Bruce Wayne is solid again, but this time he doesn't come off as a hero you really want to root for. Wayne is your typical always right always resourceful capitalist with a fetish. In his case the fetish is bats. I never found Wayne to be an endearing character until I saw Michael Keaton's performance in the 1989 Batman film. Keaton made Wayne interesting. Bale managed to do that too in Batman Begins, but in The Dark Knight Bale's performance is overshadowed by Eckhart and Ledger. It's a good thing that Bruce has Rachel as a love interest. Maggie Gyllenhaal is better in the role of Rachel than Katie Holmes was. This time however, she has fallen for Harvey Dent (played well by Aaron Eckhart). I found Dent to be a more interesting character than Wayne in this film. And then there's Heath Ledger in the role of the Joker. Others have rightfully said that his performance is the best in the film. He's the perfect villain for these times. In fact, he's the kind of villain that some viewers can admire. The Joker is a lunatic yet he's smart, he's rebellious yet resourceful, he doesn't give a damn yet he succeeds. Ledger updates the Joker for this generation; making him into a cool villain (his smeared makeup looks wicked). Oh yes I almost forgot, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman reprise their roles. They're as good as ever, and it's great to see them again. So the casting for The Dark Knight is spot on, but what about the film itself? The film is very good. It's by no means perfect. In some parts it's thrilling in others it's almost dull. Even so the film stands up well to repeated viewings. It is a bit long though. The final part of the film is exhausting, but I think it's essential to the story. Not everything in the film makes perfect sense. I doubt than even the Joker can pull off such crime feats as he does in this film. He always manages to stay one step ahead of the good guys, and it's like he knows exactly what's going to happen. The final showdown between him and Batman wasn't to my liking too. I know the scene was about morality, but couldn't the filmmakers have made it more climactic. There's also the fact that this time hardly any effort was made to make Chicago look like Gotham City. When you watch the film it's always obvious that the film was filmed in Chicago.
The Dark Knight is easily one of the best superhero movies, along with Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Batman (1989). However, I did not enjoy watching it as much as I did those two movies. So here you have it folks, a clear example that superhero movies aren't just for kids. I give The Dark Knight a high recommendation. If you're one of the very few people who haven't seen the film yet then don't be afraid to do so. It's smart entertainment and it doesn't disappoint.