A Darker Sort of Magic

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2008)

It's hard to overlook Heath Ledger's death in the face of this movie. Hype for the film reached a paramount after his death was announced, The Joker's performance and the actor behind it threatening to over-blow the picture itself. The cast and crew (apart from the placid Katie Holmes, replaced comfortably by Maggie Gyllenhaal in the role of Rachel Dawes) all return for Christopher Nolan's second venture into the crime-ridden Gotham City, and quite stunningly tops their previous BATMAN BEGINS. That movie was quite excellent, portraying a dark grim world and a powerful superhero with his inner demons always haunting him. THE DARK KNIGHT manages to push the sequel into crime-epic territory, and little of the superhero grandeur expected from a comic-book adaptation can be seen. The film is all the better for it. It's absolutely stunning.
Christian Bale returns as Batman, this time as an essentially turmoil-ridden and confused hero. It's a quietly effective performance which, if attempted by an actor with less caliber than Bale, would have deflated the film. The villain, replacing Liam Neeson from BEGINS, is The Joker, in the much-hyped performance by Heath Ledger. Never has a character thrilled and scared me in the manner in which Ledger's Joker has managed to. A truly terrific turn (which certainly deserves a Supporting Actor Oscar) which startles the viewer, not letting go even after the end credits. The supporting cast, as it's predecessor, is solid from top to bottom, Michael Caine standing out as the father-figure and warm 'accomplice.' Aaron Eckhart provides an effective rival as DA Harvey Dent, the 'White Knight' who has fallen in love with Rachel Dawes, in a much more fulfilled role than what was seen in BATMAN BEGINS.
The action sequences are realistic and often brutal, occasionally pushing the boundaries of what can be shown in an unrestricted film. Nolan shoots these scenes in a much less frenetic way than with BEGINS, allowing the audience experience the scenes and the characters rather than guessing. The film is shot in a realistic manner, the stand-in for Gotham being Chicago. It's much more a crime-epic than a colourful superhero outing.
Few recent summer movies have left me as thrilled and startled as THE DARK KNIGHT. I have to back to 2003, when The Lord Of The Rings chapter closed, to find a comparable mainstream effort as absolutely stunning and effective as this movie. Epic, spiralling and ultimately unforgettable, THE DARK KNIGHT deserves all the accolades pressed upon it. It's content like this which makes this moviegoer believe again in the magic of cinema today.