The Dark Knight

Left: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Right: Heath Ledger as the Joker. Photo credit: © Warner Bros. Pictures.

Movie review: The Dark Knight.

Synopsis:
With its criminals and corrupted people, Gotham City is still not a better place. A bank robbery doesn't really come as a surprise in the city. But this time one of Gotham's bank is being robbed by a group of masked men, led by a mysterious and scary man. Not only are there mobsters, corrupted police officers and judges, now Gotham City is also being terrorised by a new villain called the Joker (Heath Ledger).

As Batman (Christian Bale) and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) are trying to put the criminal organisations behind bars, new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) arrives in Gotham City. Soon Bruce Wayne discovers that Dent is dating his old flame Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), thus creating a certain tension between Rachel and Bruce. Both Batman and Gordon question if they can trust Dent, but they both believe he can be the public hero that Gotham desperately needs.

In order to make Gotham City a better place, Gordon and Batman decide to work together with Dent. Even Bruce Wayne supports Dent and his 'I Believe In Harvey Dent' campaign in public. Together they manage to catch a couple of bad guys and the cooperation seems to be success, but the Joker is just starting his evil games. The Joker is not like the other criminals, he doesn't care about money and moreover he's dangerous and out of his mind. In no time the mobsters are getting scared because of the many arrests, but the Joker doesn't back off. He continues to terrorise Gotham City and its citizens.

With his terrifying laugh, he threats to kill people if Batman doesn't show his true identity. With Bruce Wayne's playboy image in public, the Joker is not aware that Wayne is actually Batman. But things get more out of hand.

This time Batman has to pull everything together in his struggle against the Joker. Forcing himself to the limits both mentally and physically, Batman has to do everything to stop the Joker. This also includes improving all his technology. But things get personal for Batman when Rachel is involved.




















My thoughts:
After Batman Begins from 2005, Christopher Nolan comes with The Dark Knight this year. The Dark Knight is obviously a darker movie than its prequel. The Dark Knight with its 152 minutes is an action movie, also a thriller with drama and crime. The successful Batman Begins managed to make many Batman fans excited for the next Batman movie. If that wasn't enough, Warner Bros. released many posters and other advertisements that kept the many fans excited while they waited for the movie. The movie not only focuses on Batman, but also on the Joker and Harvey Dent (Two-Face).

The cast includes familiar faces, there isn't a single unknown name. Returning characters are Bruce Wayne / Batman, Alfred, Gordon and Rachel. Main roles are played by Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart. Minor roles are for Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. Lets see what the main guys have to offer.
Satisfying many fans in the prequel, Christian Bale is again Batman and Bruce Wayne. Moreover Bale again does an amazing job. What can you expect from Bale? He is capable of playing two entirely different characters in the same movie, just like in Batman Begins. One moment we see the flirt Bruce Wayne in his luxurious life, the other moment we see the darker side of Wayne: Batman. Bale's character is somewhat different from other superheroes, an ordinary man who doesn't really have superpowers just like Iron Man. But the fact that Batman doesn't have special powers, doesn't make less superhero of him and Bale makes this very clear. This time we see a darker Batman than in the prequel. Bale is really convincing as the caped hero, not only with his gestures and movements, he even adds the deep and dark voice to his character. Christian Bale always manages to entertain the audience and make his characters believable. He again does an excellent job, fans have even called Bale the best Batman to date and I think he does deserve this title.
Heath Ledger plays the Joker, a dangerous psychopate terrorising Gotham City. Ledger almost looks perfect as the Joker with his make up, hairdo and purple suit. His hair looks so dirty and greasy that you can almost imagine that it stinks, it seems he doesn't wash it. Like they say 'clothes make the man', in this case 'clothes make the Joker', but what else has Ledger to offer in his purple suit? One thing is sure, one of the Joker's characteristics is his eerie laugh. Ledger pulls off such an eerie laugh in the movie that it makes some dialogues scary. Heath Ledger's movements, way of talking and facial expressions all contribute to his character, making it complete. The Joker isn't the Joker if he doesn't make you or himself laugh. Even though he's a villain, he manages to make many people in the audience laugh, seems like the Joker likes to joke around when the moment is right. Moreover, Ledger's Joker is scary. Many people remember the Joker as a chaotic villain, a crazy and dangerous guy. Here he seems rather calm and more organised with his evil schemes. But this doesn't matter much, Ledger's Joker is almost perfect and just too entertaining to mind such a tiny thing.
They call new district attorney Harvey Dent the White Knight, Aaron Eckhart plays Dent. With his big and happy smile, Eckhart has the right appearance as the White Knight. Dent looks like a nice guy with a heroic spark in his eyes, trying to make things better. This all indeed sounds too good to be true for Gotham. He arrives in Gotham City and together with Gordon and Batman he manages to catch some bad guys. But the success is short, and in no time the Joker is laughing at Gotham City, at him. Dent transforms into a guy who is on a killing mission, a guy who has snapped and is just seeking revenge. Well, no more nice guy says Eckhart. Just like Bale, Eckhart has two roles, Harvey Dent and Two-Face. Eckhart shows that he can also play a madman, a man who has just lost it. The evil grin on his face, the angry look, the anger, that's the Two-Face we want to see.
I have to mention Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays Rachel Dawes, both Bruce Wayne's and Harvey Dent's love interest. She replaced Katie Holmes as Dawes. Was Holmes' portrayal of Dawes so hopeless that they decided to replace her? Maybe. But don't get too much hope for Rachel Dawes, Gyllenhaal's version isn't much better. Were they really that desperate to have Gyllenhaal? She didn't suit the role much and she wasn't convincing, not in the least. She wasn't even compatible with the two love interests. I feel sorry that they created this character, but I feel more sorry for the fact that they picked the wrong actress twice.
Many people have praised Heath Ledger's work in this movie. Don't forget Christian Bale, he actually has the main role. Bale is very convincing and he did a wonderful job, just like Ledger. Frankly, Eckhart was amazing too and the supporting actors all did their respective part making the movie enjoyable. I did not like Gyllenhaal's portrayal of Rachel, she was not convincing at all and seemed rather weak.

The battle between Batman and the villains take place in Gotham City. Gotham is a unsafe city full with criminals and corrupted people, it's a dark place. The darkness that expresses the state of the city is visible in the movie. They did not use bright or very vibrant colours, the only bright colours you'll see is when the Joker appears. The look of Gotham consists of dark colours and shadows only, making the city look convincingly unsafe and unpleasant to live in.
Events take place at several places, but the story mainly takes place in Gotham City. We even get to see Hong Kong with its skyscrapers. Hong Kong definitely looks a little brighter than Gotham and certainly more pleasant to live in and livelier.











With the stunning action scenes, interesting characters with their dialogues, the story is exciting and thrilling. What I like about the movie is that most of the things make sense in the story. Some of the characters are likable, but don't like them too much as some characters change during the movie, some character development. Ledger's version of the Joker villain is much scarier than Nicholson's version and it might be one of the reasons that people called The Dark Knight the darkest Batman movie so far. What about Batman? Bale's version of Batman seems great, a great suit, the coolest gadgets and that voice, what an irresistible Batman. Another positive point for the movie.
What I did not really like is the following. We all know that Dent transforms into Two-Face, personally I thought the transformation was a bit too quick. One moment he was still Dent and then the next minute he's Two-Face. It seemed like they didn't spend enough time for this character. It's clear why he becomes this character, but they could have given this villain some more time in the movie.
Overall The Dark Knight has a strong story with convincing characters. The title for the movie suits the movie. The Dark Knight is definitely darker than the average superhero movie.

The Dark Knight is a great movie, entertaining and enjoyable. It's packed with action, crime, thrills and some drama. The story is strong in many ways and it's a little bit darker than previous Batman movies. The cast is strong too with names such as Bale, Ledger, Eckhart and many others. Ledger's death shocked many people and it might have contributed to the high interest that people showed for The Dark Knight, but lets not forget other actors' efforts as they all did a wonderful job. The movie has some minor negative points, but what movie doesn't? There are just so many things that you like about this movie, you'll forget those minor things. After the many Batman flops in earlier years, it seems Nolan managed to make Batman 'cool' again. Just like in the cartoons. The movie is exciting, interesting and Bale is again a great Batman. Don't miss the opportunity to see this in the cinema!

Written by Mialee L. aka Sukachu.