The Dark Knight Review
Christopher Nolan's Adaptation: The Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever
Jul 29, 2008
The whole Batman franchise was kick-started back into action with Batman Begins in 2005. With Christopher Nolan at the helm the film went back to the roots of the comics, becoming darker than ever. It was a critical and commercial success, with high kudos going to Christian Bale's performance of Gotham City's protector.
The ending opened it up for a sequel, with the calling card of the Joker revealed. Now The Dark Knight starts almost from there, but from the very beginning we can tell Nolan has held nothing back with this movie - this is Batman at its darkest.
The Return Of The Clown
The Joker makes his appearance almost immediately, introducing himself to mobsters that soon wish they'd never met him. Evil is too soft a word to describe this new Joker - forget about his portrayal in the cartoons or from Jack Nicholson's version in Tim Burton's Batman, this is Bruce Wayne's arch nemesis at his most psychopathic.
To help bring down the increased crime in Gotham City, Batman has got some help. A district attorney is trying to stop it all at the roots - by going for the mob leaders. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), labelled as Gotham's 'White Knight', is becoming the city's new hero, even to the point where Batman believes he will be no longer needed. But things take a turn for the worst, and Batman has more to deal with now than ever.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Every actor in this film deserves credit for their portrayal of their selected character. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne is as much a playboy as ever, and his Batman takes his technology to a new level, and his personality to an even darker level. Michael Caine is brilliant as the witty and helpful Alfred Pennyworth, and Gary Oldman's Lieutenant James Gordon is nothing short of excellent.
But the one who steals the show is Heath Ledger as the Joker. He has his playful side and he has his maniacal side - at times, you can't tell if he's being serious or just having a laugh. There were rumours of Ledger getting an Oscar nomination for this movie before it was even released - now it is clearly visible why he deserves it.
Comic Book or Real Life?
The inspiration for the storyline, as well as some of the ideals of the Joker, came from the Batman comics The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke. The Nolan brothers (Chris and Jonathan) have done well to recreate Batman in their own image, while still paying homage to the old stories as well as Burton's version of Gotham City.
But you can also see certain aspects of the movie taken from real life. Car bombings, taking hostages and recorded video messages on television can be seen as a link to recent events in the world. Some may say this is a downside to movie, but these factors are used so well within The Dark Knight, you'll hardly notice.
Even non-fans of the franchise will find something to like here, whether it be the stunning action sequences or its fantastic soundtrack. After a run of fairly average comic book movies, this is what the industry needed - a film adaptation that is very true to the original print. This isn't just the best comic-to-film; this is one of the best films of all time.
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