A Fresh Take on the Superhero Genre

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2016)

Throughout history, the superhero genre has been reduced to a form of casual, comedic entertainment aimed at teenage boys and geeky adults. However, all that changed when Christopher Nolan, a director who needs no introduction, introduced the world to the Dark knight trilogy. The trilogy began with 'Batman begins' and reached its peak with the second installment of the series and the topic for this movie review, the Dark Knight.
The movie, heralded as one of the best of all time, features the caped crusader taking on his arch nemesis, the infamous Joker as he tries to wreak havoc in Gotham city. The movie moves away from the usual superhero stuff into deeper waters, where the watchers are exposed to the deeper psychology of the villain. The Joker takes immense pleasure in exploiting the moral foundations of Commissioner Gordon, Batman, and District Attorney Harvey Dent, and unlike usual superhero movies, bombards us with horrific catastrophes (Ohh, no spoilers :-P). The Joker actually wants the world to see that deep down in their minds, everybody is like him and makes people take decisions that would make them realise this.
The plot and acting of Heath Ledger is so spot on that he somehow manages to convince even the viewers. The Dark knight added a new dimension to the superhero genre that it had so far lacked. With a fresh and engaging story backed by exemplary performances from the likes of Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, the movie managed to please the audiences and critics alike. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker saw him win the first ever posthumous academy award. The movie managed, in a sense, to show just how real Batman could be. Unlike other superheroes, Batman is not genetically gifted and Christopher Nolan uses that exceedingly well to create an extremely relatable rendition of the dark knight. The crisp dialogue in the movie added to its credibility as a movie meant to be taken seriously.