Our ongoing series reviewing the greatest Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror movies. Note that these reviews may contain spoilers.
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Produced By: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Benjamin Melniker, Michael Uslan
Written By: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan, from a story by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman
Original Release: 2008
Reviewed By: Sam Christopher
Rating: 7 ½ out of 5 Stars (Higher than the Highest Rating)
“Some men just want to watch the world burn.”
Synopsis: The second film in Christopher Nolan’s revamp of Batman for the silver screen deals with terrorism, celebrity and difficult choices. The new Joker we’re shown is an anarchist whose goal moves from making a ton of money from Gotham’s underworld by killing the Caped Crusader, to protecting Batman, seeing the titular Dark Knight as an alter ego for himself. We also see that Batman has spawned his own imitators, guys in masks and pads whom the Dynamic Solo (no Robin here, folks) discourages. Bruce Wayne, we see, is tiring of being Batman, and looks to Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent as his successor. He sees Dent as someone who can be the hero Batman can never be, the Shining Knight rather than the Dark Knight. In the course of the film we see that the Joker and Batman are equally responsible for the creation of Two-Face and there is a fairly shocking death for the audience to contend with as well.
Comments/Review: This is the single best superhero film ever made. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that it’s not really a superhero film in the traditional sense. When most of us think about superhero films we think about colorful costumes and fantastic powers and gadgets. This film has those, of course, but it also has a darker tone than we’re used to. This is a darker film than even Burton’s Batman Returns, and very much in line with the cynicism of Watchmen. Even the Thomas Jane-led The Punisher, with a “hero” who kills those he sees as having wronged him, and the Nicholas Cage vehicle Ghost Rider, about a motorcycle stuntman who sells his soul to Satan, have a fantasy element that lightens the mood somewhat. The Dark Knight is as much a gangster film of the ‘40s with great sfx as it is a superhero film of the 2000s. Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman is spot-on, with the public persona of the playboy Wayne giving way to the serious business of being the Batman whenever he’s in private with either Alfred Pennyworth or Lucius Fox—both portrayed to perfection by the great Michael Caine and the sublime Morgan Freeman, respectively. Maggie Gyllenhaal assays the role of Rachel Dawes, taking over for Katie Holmes from the first film, Batman Begins, and does an excellent job with it. Gary Oldman and Aaron Eckhart complete the picture for the good guys as Lt. Jim Gordon and DA Dent (well, mostly good), although they’re the only two mentioned here who don’t know who Batman really is.
Of course, the real story of this film is the amazing work of the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. I know you’ve read and heard and read again what an amazing job of acting Ledger did on this picture. There’s a reason for all of that praise. It’s because it really was some amazing work. Ledger made this character a cross between the gangster Joker of the ‘40s and the insane Clown Prince of Crime from the Denny O’Neil/Neal Adams run on the Batman character from the ‘70s. (Interestingly, O’Neil did the novelizations of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.) Whereas Jack Nicholson’s Joker from the Burton films was darkly comic, Ledger’s was just dark with black humor mixed in to “lighten” the tone. From his planned bank robbery at the beginning of the film to his “magic trick” of making a pencil disappear to his… I could go on and on. Ledger’s subsequent death cast a pall over this franchise in an odd way. It didn’t take away from this film certainly, but by the end of The Dark Knight you want to see this Joker and this Batman match wits and do battle again. And again, and again. Now that can never happen. Beyond the purely human aspect of wishing this great artist hadn’t died so senselessly, there’s also this selfish aspect. The world lost an amazing acting talent the day Heath Ledger died; he will be sorely missed.
It is difficult to convey how truly astonishing this film is in a mere review. Like most great works it needs to be experienced first-hand for one to understand its greatness. Even the ending, which I originally felt marred this near-perfect piece, has a certain poetic power on repeat viewing that didn’t stand out to me the first time I watched the film. I can’t force you to watch this picture, I can only leave you with four words that I don’t toss around lightly: Best. Superhero. Film. Ever.
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