The Dark Knight is the epic second instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, in which we witness the iconic Batman (Christian Bale) face off against the formidable, the twisted, the all round crazier than ever Joker (Heath Ledger), in what can only be described as a match-up to challenge all match-ups. We can expect collateral damage as the unstoppable force collides with the immovable object, as Gotham's brightest such as Harvey Dent (Aaron Echart) and Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) are dragged into this struggle for justice.
The Dark Knight was the film that captivated my love for cinema, superheroes and well, just entertainment. I can’t think of a piece of art which has had such a profound effect on me as this movie. Released in 2008 off the back of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight inspired me so much at the age of 11, that I went to see the film three times in cinema which was a lot of pocket money. In reflection, I can imagine that my excitement then mirrors that what children of 1980 felt at the release of The Empire Strikes Back. It blew my mind and exposed a whole new darker more brooding side to cinema which till then, had been hidden away from me.
Now in order to do this film the *insert throaty voice* JUSTICE it deserves, I will have to talk spoilers and all. So If you have not watched The Dark Knight, go and watch it now, for all that is holy in this world watch it! Fan-boy rant over, lets get onto the film.
It’s a common perception in show business (so I’ve been told) that you always open with your strongest performance, and if a film were to be judged by its opening scene alone The Dark Knight would stand shoulder to shoulder with such films as Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and in my eyes, even surpass such greatness. This opening flawlessly throws the audience into the deep end, as we encounter a bank heist in which one by one, mobsters start taking each other out to ensure one less share. Not only is this concept ingenious, but also tense and sophisticated. Honestly, until that point nothing, and I mean nothing, had reached that level of well crafted intelligent action in a comic book based film. But the the show stealer is still yet to be revealed. Yes, Heath Ledger taking of the clown mask to reveal himself as the dark tattered Joker, is literally a goosebump moment. This scene never gets old, nor loses its brilliance.
Nolan, like a master conductor of an orchestra, then slows the pace down. Many would argue why do such a thing? The fan-boy in me is screaming Nolan-we-Trust! But the film reviewer, If I can call myself that, knows that this is merely time to allow the onwatchers to be entrenched in the excellent backstory. Despite it’s unquestionable success, there are a few people who feel or felt mislead by The Dark Knight, for not living up to stereotypical comic book film traits. However, this is where The Dark Knight exceels. Nolan ensures that this is a story, not just a visual spectacle revolving around gaudi fight scenes. In a film grounded in realism, it is only fitting that Bruce Wayne as Batman, alongside Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, prioritises the Mob over one nut-job who has had a bad make up day. However, after the engaging melody, a crescendo must follow.
The film has now gone without The Joker since the first scene, trust me when I say It’s brooding. Out of nowhere, in the echo of the mob’s hide out we hear it, the simple “Haha haaaha hooheehe ha”. The Joker has arrived and with the simple question, “How about a magic trick?”, a film icon is born. What follows is history. The Academy Award Winning performance by the late Heath Ledger is simply perfect. Never before in my eyes has an actor committed so much to a role. Surrounded by a superb cast, such as Bale, Oldman and Freeman, Ledger simply blows everyone away and in my opinion, crafts a performance that surpasses any I have ever seen. Aided by brilliant dialogue and expert realisation, we are presented with symbol of everything wrong with society. That is the brilliance about Nolan’s and Ledger’s Joker: although he is sick, crazed and psychotic there is a sense of rationality to the ideas he is portraying to Gotham. The Joker acts as a foil of societies flaws, trying to expose every inch of badness within people. Along with Ledger’s magnetic performance is nothing less than compelling.
This crescendo comes to a climax with Batman’s confrontation with The Joker. What many expect now, presuming that they are expecting the typical comic book film, is the fist fights to end all fist fights. Wrong. This is simply a interrogation. An Interrogation that revolves around debating morals with The Joker articulating his perception of the world and it’s values flawlessly. A quote that comes to mind is “People are only as good as the world allows them to be.”. We are left dumbfounded that the guy with the worn clown make up, green hair and yellow teeth, is picking fault with society and my god he is right. That is the genius that Nolan culminated in the Joker, as we are lead to realise he is not someone motivated by greed or fortune, more so anarchy and destruction. His only point is to prove that the world we live in can be turned upside down by a few bullets and some dynamite. That one man no matter how morally strong, can be corrupted, and he succeeds.
Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent is one of those characters that could easily have failed. I'm always impressed when an actor is capable of a convincing character 180. Dent’s descent into hateful vengeance is not only convincing but sublime. Despite the Joker failing in his public ‘social experiment’, he won the victory by converting Gotham's white knight, Harvey Dent, into the symbol of malice that is Two-Face. Two-Face is truly a product of The Joker’s chaos, and thus the failure of Batman.
The film ends with Batman realising that the only way he can portray any belief in the good of society, is to act as a symbol of it’s depravity and take blame for the crimes committed by Dent as well as Dent’s death, to ensure that people still believe that one man can triumph adversity. This self sacrifice is truly captivating as we the audience not only pity Bale’s iconic character, but accept that maybe the best things that are encouraged in our society are founded upon ideals rather than the individuals that are promoted. The Dark Knight asks the question is the truth always what is necessary for prosperity.
I refrained from full in depth spoilage in this review, more so skim reading. The truth is I could never summarize this film in a review. The Dark Knight has to be experienced to allow yourself to fully soak in the sheer scope of this feature. Although perceived to be fueled by fandom, The Dark Knight truly is more of a film. It is a triumph, one of the most iconic and renowned films of my generation. Christopher Nolan has succeeded in producing a film that to dismiss as merely a comic book flick, is a crime of the highest caliber. The movie is an in-depth study into the working of society and how it reacts when establishment is upset. With numerous terrific performances and one truly breathtaking portrayal from Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight not only succeeds on so many levels but also raises the bar for what intellectual direction and storytelling can bring to a franchise that is brushed aside as hype. The Dark Knight is certainly the film the world deserves… (I’m not going to finish the quote but you get my point).
My Score: 9.8/10
IMDB: 9/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
Did You Know: During production Nolan and company decided to shoot various scenes in the Dark Knight on IMAX cameras. This created all manner of issues for the team due to the device’s impracticality. Plus, at that time in 2008, there were only 4 IMAX cameras in the world, which doesn't help the fact that during filming the team destroyed one of the cameras. Totalling around £300,000 a piece, this was not some simple run to the Kodak store. 
No comments:
Post a Comment