For those of you who have been living in a cave, “The Dark Knight” is the blockbuster smash hit follow up to the critically acclaimed “Batman Begins.” TDK continues exploring the notion of a superhero existing in a real world context (at least as far as Hollywood goes) and delves even further into the Batman mythos with the introduction of his most famous nemesis, the Joker.
The overall cast is superb with Christian Bale reprising his role as Batman, Michael Cane as Alfred the butler, Gary Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon, and new addition Aaron Eckhardt appearing as District Attorney Harvey Dent. The only disappointment was Katie Holmes’ Rachel Dawes character who is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal in this movie. Gyllenhall, while passable, just seems to lack the leading lady beauty and charisma that such a big film demands. Finally, Heath Ledger as the Joker conveys so much uneasiness, tension, and chaos its almost hard to believe that underneath all the makeup the Joker is being portrayed by an actual actor. While I was a huge fan of Jack Nicholson’s previous take on the character, in all honesty he isn’t fit to tie Heath Ledger’s shoelaces in this film. That is how good he is in this movie.
The plot is superb and relies more on a real world crime drama story line than your typical comic book “I’m the hero and I need to stop the villain” setup so prevalent in superhero movies these days. In fact, this adherence to a “real world” context is what gives the movie so much depth and the scenes that require complete suspension of disbelief are minimal. This movie is oozing with inner conflict and pathos and everything from the actor’s performances to the environments to the story line itself help to convey the inner struggles in all of the characters while reinforcing the notion of realism the director was aiming for. From the opening scene to the movie’s end, the pace is non-stop. The constant uncertainty of what the Joker will do next seems to be felt just as much by the audience as it is by the citizens of Gotham City that he is terrorizing.
All in all, this is the best movie of the year, if not one of the best movies of all time. I highly recommend this film as it has something to offer everyone, even if they aren’t fans of the comic or the character.
