Rating of
4/4
One of the best films of the DECADE!
Tino - wrote on 07/17/08
The Dark Knight is one of the most hyped and anticipated films of all time. and it actually lives up to the mountains of hype.
Christain Bale stars as the title character, and does a terrific job. Caine, Freeman, and Oldman all return to their original roles from 'Begins', and Katie Holmes is rightfully swapped for Maggie Gyllenhal. The two newcomers, Heath Ledger and and Aaron Eckhart star as The Joker and Harvey "Two-face" Dent, respectively.
The film begins immediately showing how insane the joker truly is. That is a good portion of the movie, displaying the incredible craziness of the character. The Joker is one of the most memorable villains in all of film history. Yes, it is that good. He is terrifying. He is disgustingly evil. And yet, he doesn't have tons of screen time. His evil isn't the point of the film though. The point is the hero that is Batman. Along with the Agent of Chaos that is The Joker, there is his polar opposite, the night-riding protector of Gotham City. In TDK, Bruce Wayne is more of a detective than a super-hero. Nolan intended this, and shows it with numerous scenes where Batman is at crime scenes investigating along side his one friend, Lieutenant Jim Gordon.
Along with Batman, The Joker has to put up with the new district attorney, Harvey Dent, as he attempts to bring Gotham into a point of human depression. Dent is called the White Knight of Gotham, as he ruthlessly pursues The Joker and Gotham's other low-life criminals. As the Joker kills off anyone that attempts to permit order and peace in the city, Dent constantly risks his own life to ensure the safety of the citizens. He eventually becomes more than just a target but a pawn in the Joker's maniacal plans. This leads to the inevitable corruption and transformation of Harvey Dent, into Two-Face.
Nolan has created something special here. Personally, I did like Batman Begins, but I also believe it is severely over-hyped. The Dark Knight blows it out of the water. He took one concept of this hero, and his world, and utilized it, and brought out its best qualities. The eeriness of Ledger's performance is incredible. He has already gotten a lot of Oscar talk about this performance, in which I was highly doubtful and against, but it is all true. I was afraid Ledger would get a pity vote due to his untimely death, but I can honestly say that he deserves it now. It will be a crime if he isn't nominated at the very least. Eckhart also deserves a nomination. He brings such emotion to his character, unlike anything we have ever seen for one of Batman's main enemies.
The Dark Knight is honestly more along the lines of films such as Serpico, The Untouchables, and The Departed than previous screen adaptations of super-hero films. The entire film gives the audience this feeling of impending doom, that is sure to be brought on by the demon-like Joker. This gives one such an incredible experience and emotional connection with the characters. The audience is genuinely worried for each and every one of them.
Nolan hasn't created a masterpiece, due to some (but very few) flaws in the film. There is one part of the story that I didn't care for, but it is a fairly minor part. The film looses some of its momentum towards the end of this two and a half hour thrill ride. With all of this being said, the fact of how the film grabs you is incredible. It's beautiful, brutal, emotional, and scary. But none the less, this is one of the best films of the 2000s, and easily the best this year.
GO AND SEE IT!
