Dark Knight Review

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2008)

I have one problem with this movie. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes. She has no conviction, she is annoying, and I felt no sorrow when she died. Her failure to portray Rachel the way Katie Holmes made her in Batman Begins as wholesome and dedicated makes it hard to relate to Harvey Dent's grief. In this movie she is entirely different, seemingly only there because the plot requires it, she brings nothing to the movie. With that being said, that is one very little flaw in a fantastic movie. The sonar cell phone was a little strange, but I'll take it. I mean, Batman always has cool toys.
What really makes this movie great is the way it can make you feel twisted. Ledger as the Joker is marvelous. He says that he has no plans, money is meaningless, it's all about the message. He's trying to send the message that we are all a little corrupt, we're all a little off, and we just need to be pushed. The human mind is a fragile thing. As dark as this movie is you are frequently laughing. The Joker takes a man's life with a joke, the disappearing pencil, sick and disgusting, yet everyone is laughing. Every scene with Ledger leaves you laughing and feeling as if you are the most terribly gruesome person. Why are you laughing, he's murdering people. We are corrupt. That is what he believes, and that's what he shows you. It's sick.
Aside from the violence and mind twist you have the struggling hero. Or heroes. Batman fighting crime along side Harvey Dent. In the end Dent is corrupted, Batman is not. Batman is the hero that Gotham needs him to be. The greatness of this movie has little to do with Batman, but what he stands for against a world of corruption. He stands as the man who is willing to be loved or hated to see his city fight back. I will say no more, you must see this movie.
It is likely that I will never love another movie more.