Great, not enough emotion

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2008)

The Dark Knight. I have been eagerly waiting for this movie like no other. I mean LOTR 3 was exciting but this just kept me counting each passing day. And then i went to see an advanced screening and i find it a movie hard to put my finger on. I plan to go next week to have a thorough opinion but i have a strong feeling toward it now. And that is, that it has been over-hyped and made to look good by exceptional trailers. The Dark Knight is dark; rarely do we see light in the movie. The cast must now be nocturnal for it is a dim, depressing style movie with very few happy or truly emotional scenes. It portrays anger, sadness, betrayal with no real moments of sheer magic that makes you feel warm or cold inside. It all seems to just drift along at one same point of feeling. Emptiness. Batman is as ever equipped with stylish and impressive gadgets which work well but there is not enough of that brilliance in the movie. For example the new wings Batman tries in Asia is a masterpiece and so exciting and breathtaking. After that its gone and thats it. Christian Bale is the best Batman but is voice as the Bat is too angry and serious and far too low to be appreciated for what is a reasonable performance which still excels the likes of Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Michael Keaton. He still needs to be more heroic. And have more belief in his good performance. Now before i talk of the late Heath Ledger as the Joker i must say how brilliant and perfect the main supporting cast are. Maggie Gyllenhal is exceptional and is underused in the movie. Her power and grace as an actress is really shown here as she is the perfect role for Rachel Dawes. Aaron Eckhart is great as Harvey Dent/Two Face but his CGI Two Face may disappoint like it did me in some ways. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman as Alfred and Lucius respectively show that they still have a few things up their sleeve and aren't ready to pack it in any time soon as they do make this movie bearable in the two and a half hour time. Freeman is so powerful, yet believable and Caine has so much meaning in his manner of acting. Gary Oldman is super as Commissioner Gordon and he truly is now their with the great actors of this century. Now, as the Joker says near the end of the movie 'Here we go'. Heath Ledger (R.I.P.) was a tremendous talent which was sadly lost but i am so undecided about is portrayal of The Joker it is difficult to describe. He plays an evil Joker unlike the awful comedy that was Jack Nicholson, but it still seems there could have been and should have been so much more from his part. He brings dark humour to the role but failed to scare me and make me think, 'God, he's good'.; which i was expecting. His methods of destruction and havoc are well done by director Nolan but i still think there could have been more of him in the movie, more scary and more sinister, like from the amazing trailers i thought there would be. His makeup at first looked ace but it wears off and you later think nothing of it as he comes on screen. Don't get me wrong, his performance is excellent with some impeccable scenes where he performs a 'magic' trick with a pencil but there isn't enough of a frightening appeal from him. Its far-fetched at times but i don't care about that but his story isn't as well done as i would have liked. No past of the Joker is told and this fails to bring an emotional connection between Ledger and the audience. His death will of course prove a factor at the Oscars later this year but i believe he just clinches it with his performance. The Special Effects are faultless and the shots of the city Gotham, (mainly Chicago) are beautiful but it is too dark and lacks charm like the Spiderman movies 1 and 3 had. It is better than these but i felt the movie lacked a true power to capture and amaze, and take the cinema to another level of wow! factor. Nolan has done well with this movie, and his direction is not to be challenged for he shows his talent here. But his decisions with key plot moments is shocking at one point in this movie that i wanted to scream and walk out. And his ending is a let down. The DarkKnight is a great movie that should be a 15 for its violence and darkness but it fails to amaze and scare and sadden and make people cheer in their hearts. This was Ledgers last movie and i feel it could have been a lot better. I rate this movie, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight 9/10