The Dark Knight (2008)

director: Christopher Nolan

writers: Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

genre: Comics, Crime, Drama

Here is by far the best comic book film ever made and my favorite film of 2008. This film accomplishes what other films tried for years to do and failed miserably. This is the quintessential comic book film filled with thrills, action, suspense, and drama. But it’s not only that as it shows that the superhero genre can go toe to toe with standard dramas that come out ever year for the Oscars.

The story continues where we left off in Batman Begins. Bruce Wayne/Batman (Christian Bale) has already become the symbol he wanted to be with criminals too afraid to go out on the streets at night. All seems good for Gotham to go back to its former glory. But Batman and Lieutenant Gordon (Gary Oldman) see that only themselves can’t save Gotham and try their luck on District Attorney Harvey Dent. In the midst of this the Joker (Heath Ledger) makes his presence known throughout Gotham and the underworld as the man to bring the city to its knees and kill the Batman. While Batman sees the hope for Gotham in Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as he is Gotham's beacon of hope and Batman’s ticket to a normal life with Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal). But his hopes are too high. While Joker shows the whole city that they need to be introduced to a little anarchy and that even the brightest among us can fall.

What in my opinion the best thing about this film is how filmmakers took the best elements from the comics from stories like The Killing Joke, The Long Halloween and a few other places and at the same time put some new elements that lift up the story and situations for the characters and still stay true to comic’s origins. Many just take the origin of a comic book character and then make up their minds on the direction instead of staying true and respectful. All this is due to the sensational filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Giving him the reigns to a Batman film was the best thing to have happen. Already having made Memento and Insomnia we already see that he knows well to go deep into minds of twisted and sane characters alike and show what they truly are. Here he shows us who Batman is. A dark soul who no matter what he wants he knows in the end he is Gotham’s Dark Knight and he has to protect her.

The Dark Knight must have been one of the most hyped films in years. After a great first film everybody knew it and felt that the second would top the first. And it did. It got great recognition from critics being on many best film lists of the year and at the box office became one of the highest grossing films in history. But what it didnt get was nominations (Oscars,Golden Globes) . How can this film not get nominated for best film and best director. The film accomplishes so many things as ive mentioned before. But what Nolan does in my opionion is far greater than for example Danny Boyle did in Slumdog Millionaire. Meaning that comic book films is one of the most difficult genres to tackle and Nolan made such a film that no else has made. He has raised the bar in filmaking of this genre instead Boyle made a film of a subjectg matter that many have tackled and managed to make good films and does nothing new to the genre but make the film a easy crowd pleaser. Hope you understand that this why the film should be acclaimed this much.

One of the reasons though that the hype went so ballistic and why the film was so good was Heath Ledger. His performance of Joker did give the film a flair. Im not going to go as far and say that he was the only thing that made the film good. That would be not respectful to the whole cast and crew of the film that did a bang up job. The effects are seamless and realistic, soundtrack eerie and unsettling at times to makes us feel the anarchy and chaos that is happening. Also the great performance of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent that sells the character incredible and I see it as his film. The tragedy of Harvey Dent. In total if any of these components were missing it would have been the film it is.

Films like Dark Knight are hard to come by. Don’t shy away from this film if you haven’t seen it because it had great revenue at the box office or just because everybody loved Heath Ledgers performance. The Dark Knight is much more than a superhero film but a film about how the best of us can go down the road of evil, how everybody in society has rights, that in the end anarchy may bring chaos but chaos brings us together to fight for the common good and that one must sacrifice himself for justice to prevail.

Personal Rating:

Review by Paul