The Dark Knight, a comic book masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (10 February 2009)

From the moment I watched the teaser trailer of The Dark Knight I was drawn into the hype surrounding how brilliantly made it was going to end up being. Even before the tragic death of the late Heath Ledger (The Joker) I was mainly interested in seeing whether this would surpass the previous film. Having watched Batman Begins three years ago I felt the film was too dark for a comic book film compared to other superhero films such as the Spiderman trilogy and Superman Returns. However the minute Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) presented Batman with a Joker card in Batman Begins' conclusion you just knew that the sequel would be better.
The Dark Knight is a haunting, comic book masterpiece which easily is miles better than Batman Begins in terms of story, visually and characters. Once again Christian Bale helms the role of Bruce Wayne who's alter-ego Batman is continuing to rid Gotham City of its criminals and helping Gordon and the new DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) make the city a better place. However all hell is set to break loose in the form of the super criminal The Joker (the late Heath Ledger) who's tricks and turns cause havoc for those trying to save the day.
Acting wise Christian Bale is again stern as the millionaire restricted to living in an underground skip but hopes to soon give up his role as Batman for the love of his childhood friend Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes). Gyllenhaal herself has a small role but personally I preferred Holmes who suited the Rachel Dawes character more. Veterans Michael Caine (Alfred) and Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox) add experience to the franchise again whilst Gary Oldman continues to rid of his bad boy character image with a good guy character who audiences sympathise for. 80's stars such as Eric Roberts and Anthony Michael Hall also add their own ability to the film. Surprising a few people in this is Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent who seeks to become Gotham City's white knight but is tragically overthrown into having an alter-ego himself with a far more nastier streak.
But unsurprisingly the star of the show is the late Heath Ledger who's haunting turn as the psychopathic Joker is a villain of such integrity who's taunts and ideas leave Gotham in chaos including the deaths of a couple of key characters and wrecking the establishment of major players in the Gotham rank including Dent. Ledger's tragic death is a devastation reflected by what a villainous portrayal he created with an evil character ranked amongst the greats such as Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter. His recent awards success for the Joker is fully deserved and it would be an absolute crime for his performance to miss out at the forthcoming Oscars.
Christopher Nolan's visual style creates a Gothic look for Gotham city in beautiful style and the rest of it deservedly rewarded nominations for art direction, cinematography and editing. The major set pieces show a thrilling tension to the story including the opening bank robbery sequence and the lorry chase as well as memorable one-liners especially from Ledger's Joker including "I believe what doesn't kill you makes you stranger" and "Why so Serious?" Watching The Dark Knight at IMAX was a wonderful experience for me and after the rest of my family watched it they too were impressed and mouth-watered by the whole phenomenon. I hope more people watch it as it is a modern day masterpiece.