The Dark Knight :: Wessex Scene Online

The Dark Knight

Why So Serious?

6th October 2008
Dean Read

About this film

Title	The Dark Knight
Director	Christopher Nolan
Release Date	24 July 2008
Certificate
Genres	Action, Crime, Thriller
Our Rating	5.0/5.0
Shown at Union Films Sunday 9th November 2008 8:00pm

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More by Dean Read

Oct 08 - WALL E
Jan 08 - The Golden Compass
Oct 07 - Troy Vs 300 - The Director's Cut
Mar 07 - Beerfest
Dec 06 - The Prestige

The Dark Knight

It’s perhaps not a particularly risky statement to make but I’m going to say it anyway, The Dark Knight is undoubtedly the best Batman film.

I know that now when you look back at the 90’s era batman flicks and see the ridiculous campness (which is itself nothing compared to the Adam West days) and the exploding cars which are clearly miniatures it is easy to say, “How could anyone have ever thought this top class cinema?” But it is worth remembering that only the very best films age well and usually the ones that aren’t heavily reliant on SFX. With the career high performances on display and the intricately conceived storyline it is difficult to see The Dark Knight ever being looked upon in jest the way its early predecessors in character (but not theme) are.

We open with an audacious bank robbery, each partner in crime killing a teammate along the way until there is only one; the mastermind – The Joker. And in this case “The Joker” definitely deserves a “The” with a capital T. We discover it’s not just any old bank he has knocked off with such murderous precision but a mob safehold and he is well aware of that fact. This opening is a definite scene setter; Batman is facing a completely different threat this time around, not the same old classical mobsters, someone with no concern for human life who just “wants to see the world burn”. As that scene plays virtually no part in the greater storyline I am happy to reveal it, but there will be no further spoilers because that would ruin half of The Joker’s anarchic fun.

Along with a new bad guy on the scene we have a white knight in DA (district attorney) Harvey Dent. Breaking the mould of corrupt Gotham City officials who sold out to the cartels years ago Harvey heads straight for the big dogs and nearly gets shot in the face for his troubles. Despite death threats and intimidation Dent remains determined to clean up Gotham and because of this is seen as a hero to the people, rather than the shady figure of Batman who lurks in the dark with a non-existent PR team.

At two and a half hours The Dark Knight is by no means a short film and it doesn’t feel like it. But instead of being bored and restless, by the end you are left wondering how the hell they fitted so much in. Strangely enough most of those things don’t have a whole lot to do with our leading man who spends most of his time played like The Joker’s favourite fiddle. Both Batman and Dent follow significant arcs but The Dark Knights is a lot more subtle almost to the point that it is swallowed up by Dents more showy Joker induced personality revelations. In the end the man holding the strings is always smiling and the difference between his puppets is which decides to be a real boy.

It would seem it is impossible to discuss The Dark Knight without mentioning the tragic loss of Heath Ledger (The Joker). So let me get it out of the way, he is just as awesome as you’ve heard and if he gets an Oscar it is deserved and not some form of post-death flattery. The performance is brilliant, particularly so when he’s being funny. The difference between him slitting a person’s face open and performing a piece of slapstick which leaves the whole audience cracking up is knife-edge thin and because of that The Joker is one of the great film villains. Ledger is nowhere to be found in this man, from the overt and slightly exaggerated shuffling gait to the much more subtle tone modulation of the unhinged voice, it is clear that this isn’t just hamming it up; Ledger researched, created and became The Joker.

With that out the way, it is worth mentioning the cast members who got a significant amount less press. Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) gets what is possibly the juiciest role in terms of acting possibilities and he doesn’t fail. As the Joker is manipulating both Batman and Dent it is Dent who has the opportunity to become a new man and Eckhart makes you empathise with him. Quite surprisingly it is the star of the show whose performance requires a bit more effort to fully appreciate. Batman (Christian Bale) is twisted and turned by The Joker on a much greater scale than Dent but the change wrought is much subtler. Every performance by Bale is excellent and in this second of the modern franchise that is no different. Batman becomes The Dark Knight and it isn’t until the ending credits that you see how Bale has gradually got him there, almost unknowingly right under the audience’s noses. Predictably Freeman, Caine and Oldman turn in pitch perfect performances as Lucius Fox, Alfred and Lt. Gordon, it’s almost as if they’ve been doing this sort of thing for a while... Unfortunately a notable exception to the faultless casting is Maggie Gyllenhaal as Dent and Batman’s love interest Rachel Dawes. This is going to sound harsh, but she is just not at all good looking enough to be believable as a partner for either. Her performance is so bland they could have just used some retarded paparazzi loving moron and at least they would have been better looking.

In summary I don’t believe it is difficult to conclude my views on The Dark Knight, everyone should see it, and there ya go. I almost don’t want to go back to Begins because I know it isn’t as good and am trying to avoid the fact it’s been destroyed on all accounts by the brilliance of its sequel. Undoubtedly the film event of the summer, and who knows? Perhaps even the year.