Dark Knight Review

When I was a little tyke, I remember sitting in front of the TV EVERYDAY, popping in one of the most warn down VHS films I had and watching Tim Burton's original Batman, in what I considered to be my favorite Batman movie. Yes I even thought it was better than Batman Begins. I thoroughly enjoyed Burton's fantastical, and animated depiction of the story. However, Christopher Nolan's interpretation was one to be noted. Highly personal, multi charachter driven, FILM approach to the series itself.

The trouble with most comic book movies is that they try too hard to re-create whatever is on page, which there is nothing wrong with, however there always seems to be this cheeseball factor to the surface.

Nolan's Batman films however are not like this, he approaches the story in the way most films, or at least quality films are done. Investing alot of his given time into multiple characters, as opposed to simply the hero himself, and The Dark Knight is no exception.

I think it's safe for me to say, that in my opinion, if this movie didn't develop other characters such as Gary Oldman's SUPERB portrayal of commissioner Gordon, or Eckhart's Harvey Dent, Morgan Freeman's character, or most of the other characters in this film, it would be nothing special.

Nonetheless, The Dark Knight continues in the same vein as Begins, a realistic, mob esque view of a city in utter turmoil, while things seem to have gotten better, one criminal mind sits on the boundary between Gotham's complete resurrection as a great city, and the crime slum it has always been, and that one person is Heath Ledger's Joker charachter.
Bruce Wayne is also thrown into a love triangle in this movie, with Eckhart's Harvey Dent forming a relationship with fellow love interest Rachel Dawes. Despite their common interest, the two share a yearning for justice, however on opposite sides of the spectrum. Wayne on his side of outlaw justice, though a symbol for justice, not as strong as a government official, in which case is Dent.

The film trickles through an extremely complex story line, linking various crime families, bosses and such together, in which has become an intertwined web of debauchery, spun by The Joker.

From his very first appearance in the film, Ledger's embodiment of one of the most complex characters in fiction is stunning. The entire time sitting in my chair, not once did I think I was staring at an actor playing a comic book villian, instead, I saw an absolute disturbing human, homicidal maniac, in which invokes quite the since of ominous fear. Though the power behind the character's prowess, stature, and speech is absolutely cringing and terrifying, The Joker also seems to be the bulk of comedy relief in this film, which in some ways adds a whole other level to how scary this charachter really is.

The entire film is packed with incredible acting. Eckhart's Harvey Dent is rewarding and noble to watch, his passion for justice is moving, and defeating when his transformation into Two-Face has taken place. I however did have issues with Two-Face as a whole. It seemed that this charachter was underdeveloped, never really highlighting his insanity, especially for how quickly they incorporated him into the story. I also thought the effects of his deformity were a little too fantastical for a Nolan Batman depiction, also just unbelievable.

Bale does an amazing, and greatly convincing job as Bruce Wayne, however I think the lowest parts of the film is when we see him as Batman. I love Christian Bale as an actor, but he's very linear in each of his roles, therefore, I find it difficult to watch him when he's basically growling at opponents, it's just simply humorous. I think that Batman himself actually makes these films weak, not that there is any way to avoid him, but the story is just so complex and in depth, I almost think he's just there to be there.

Bottom line is that this film's amazing story line, realistic and modern portrayal of such a great comic book classic, superb acting, phenomenal cinematics, and an absolutely iconic performance by Heath Ledger takes this movie above all.

FINAL GRADE: A+