The Dark Knight - My Review

THE DARK KNIGHT

(2008, 152 mins)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

You’d be hard-pushed to find a film that has received such positive word-of-mouth as The Dark Knight has recently. The general consensus from the countless people who helped it break box office records in the US last week is that the movie lives up to the hype, and maybe even goes so far as to exceed it. Indeed, the fact that the film currently sits pretty at the top of the IMDb’s Top 250 movies of all-time list having knocked The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption off the top of the list should be some indication of its current popularity. Is this justified? Yes and no.

First things first: the film is impressive, both in terms of visual splendour and pacing. The movie retains the same gloomy dark atmosphere of Batman Begins and continues to skilfully walk the line between action and story development as well as its predecessor did. It shows a Gotham suffering from an uncertain future as crime continues to plague the city while the ever-looming presence of the Bat signal and district attorney Harvey Dent show promise for a crime-free future. Anyone expecting to see some sunshine or flowers would be wise to give this a miss: this is a dark movie.

This darkness isn’t confined to the cinematography, however: it could easily be attributed to some of the actors’ performances too. Heath Ledger has been the main talking point of the film among critics – unfortunately partly due to his untimely death – but there’s no denying that his deeply unsettling performance as the Joker eclipses that of anyone else in the movie. He literally steals every scene he appears in and is hypnotically compelling to watch: one would hate to be an extra in a Joker scene because the audience’s eyes would be so intently focused on Ledger’s subtle facial nuances that they’d be almost certain never to glance at anyone else in the frame.

The rest of the cast is also on top form, with many of them giving flawless performances that sum up their characters to a tee. Aaron Eckhart is effective as Harvey Dent, particularly halfway through the movie when he undergoes a rather disturbing transformation; Maggie Gyllenhaal makes the role of Rachel her own, to the extent that it’s hard to imagine Katie Holmes (who played the same character in Batman Begins) doing so well. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are once again given some memorable lines and provide some dryly warm comic relief, and Gary Oldman once again shows why he’s the best Commissioner Gordon.

Ironically, perhaps the only main performance that isn’t consistently outstanding is that by Christian Bale as the emotionally tormented Batman. As Bruce Wayne he’s compelling to watch, and as the film progresses and events unfold he starts to embark on a downward spiral that’s bleaker than anything even seen in a Batman film (yes, even Mr Freeze’s one-liners in Batman & Robin). However, once he dons the Batsuit he somehow develops a distractingly gruff voice which makes him sound needlessly angry, even when he’s just having a normal conversation with someone like Commissioner Gordon. This is a minor issue in an otherwise fantastic performance, though.

The Dark Knight is another fantastic Batman movie from Christopher Nolan and serves as proof that Batman Begins wasn’t a fluke. The film does suffer from the odd slow moment during the middle third, but it’s never too long before the Joker turns up and captivates you all over again. This movie would be worth seeing for Heath Ledger’s performance alone, but thankfully there’s also a great movie there too.

4/5