Puts the "Dark" in Dark Knight

Rating: 9/10 (19 July 2008)

In a summer of comic book movies, deciding which one was the best is a hard task. So far we have been treated to film adaptations of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and a Hellboy sequel, all of which were very good. The Dark Knight makes the decision even harder.
Christopher Nolan's sequel to the already excellent Batman Begins is better than the original, better than all four Burton/Schumaker films combined, and better than other comic book films such as every Superman movie ever made. Christian Bale returns as the Caped Crusader, reprising the role that made him a star. Bale once again blows us all away as he makes Michael Keaton look like George Clooney in the Batsuit. However, there is a reason the word "Batman" is not in the title: This movie belongs to not Batman, but the Joker. The late Heath Ledger makes his presence felt in his final film. Compared to Ledger's Joker, Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in Tim Burton's 1989 version of Batman is the equivalent of the disaster that was Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Freeze in Batman and Robin.
The film picks up a few months after "Begins". Gotham City (a thinly disguised Chicago) is becoming safer thanks to the efforts of Batman, good cop Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and new Gotham DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The real Batman, Bruce Wayne, is facing some problems in social life, much like Peter Parker in Spider Man 2. Dent is currently dating Bruce's childhood sweetheart Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllhanall who replaces Katie Holmes). Gotham is suddenly threatened by The Joker, a sadistic killer who wears clown makeup and gets a kick out of torture. When Nicholson did the role, he went for laughs. Ledger does the same. The only difference is when Jack tried to be funny, he did silly things like point a gun with an outrageously long barrel. When Heath tries to be funny he does magic. He makes a pencil disappear! Wanna know how he does it, kids? He puts the pencil on the table, then throws a guy head-on into the pencil! Sir Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their respective roles as Alfred and Lucius Fox. Both are a couple of the greatest actors we have ever seen, and are not afraid to demonstrate. They both are the voice of reason in Bruce Wayne's crazy brain, and crack out the funny one liners to lighten the mood of this dark film.
Speaking of the film's darkness, it's not a great idea to bring the kiddies to this one. This is darker than all of the previous five and even some adults may be affected by Ledger's death when viewing this film. It's impossible not to think of Heath's passing when he is on screen, and some images seem a bit disturbing due to his death. For example, there is one scene where The Joker hides in a body bag to avoid some rival gangsters.
Ledger, once again, makes this film. Fans, like myself, will love his memorable quotes such as "Why so SERIOUS?" or "Let's put a smile on that face!". However, sometimes Ledger makes his presence felt by not saying a word at all. For example, a scene where The Joker, dressed in as a nurse, blows up a hospital, is made funny in a sick way. Heath simply walks through the crumbling building as explosions go off behind him. After a while they stop. Ledger, makes a few funny faces, messes around with a controller, then casually walks away as the building explodes.
Ledger couldn't have done it without a little help, though. Oldman's Gordon is given a much bigger role in the film, much to the viewer's delight. While everybody loved Oldman is "Begins", "TDK" establishes Gordon as the greatest hero in Gotham not named Batman. Eckhart is great as Dent, and even better as the villainous Two-Face, who Dent becomes when his face is horribly scarred by The Joker. Eckhart makes fans forget about Batman Forever, where Tommy Lee Jones completely butchered the part.
Sadly, though, the film is not without its few flaws. Gyllanhall has no chemistry on screen with anyone, not even Bale. Katie Holmes is, surprisingly, missed. Caine is very good, but his role is made smaller in this film. And finally, one of the things that made "Begins" so good was Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow. Sadly, Scarecrow makes only a quick appearance that has almost nothing to do with the plot. He is, however, spared, leaving Scarecrow fans, like myself, hopeful.
Overall, The Dark Knight makes us love the comic book film even more. It also gives us a tragic reminder...we are Definitely going to miss Heath Ledger.