The Dark Knight (Movie Review)

It's a relief when somebody can do a sequel right, even if the expectations are daunting. The Dark Knight prevails because it doesn't try so hard into similar territory and it makes for some of the best movie making of this decade. Heath Ledger's Joker is probably one of the most memorable villains that I have seen this side of Anton Chigurh (No Country for Old Men). He's the most convincing version of the Clown Prince hands down. Assessing Heath Ledger's performance is like assessing all of the other adaptations of the previous Jokers. They were ranged from too clownish (Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson) or over-the-top (Mark Hamill, Kevin Michael Richardson). Most of these performances were great (well, except Cesar's laughable performance) ,yet they lack a certain duality that Heath puts into the character. The Joker was always a psychopath, but for some people not taken very seriously. His presence in the movie as a very menacing and emotional figure will not only be remembered for years to come, but will change the way of how to perform as the Joker. Christian Bale isn't as awe-inspiring, but is great once again as Bruce Wayne/Batman; even he hits a certain emotional core not seen since Kevin Conroy in Batman: The Animated Series taking his performance from Batman Begins to new heights. Amazingly, where Bale succeeds is the climax where his final words are bone-chilling and heartwarming which not only affects Gotham City, but the well-being of Batman and how he stands with the citizens of Gotham City. which ends the movie on an optimistic though cliffhanger note. The Supporting cast is also very good as Aaron Eckhardt is very good as Harvey Dent; even if the character seemed slightly underdeveloped. I felt that Nolan didn't give enough room for Harvey/Two Face to expand his role. It was an attractive performance that should've saved for movie No. 3. Maggie Gyllenhaal should've been Rachel Dawes from the start (even though as a whole, the character isn't quite interesting) as she doesn't seem as oblivious like Katie Holmes when she portrayed her the first time this character was exclusive to the films. The same goes for the rest of the performances, even Eric Roberts who is very effective as Sal Maroni and his lines were delivered very precise and exected well and I thought out of He, Oldman, Freeman, and Caine . He was more interesting and left me wanting to see more screen time for his performance. (which is rare; since I expected him to be a total stiff) Visually, what more can you say about the cinematography? The movie wants you to take notice of the sprawling city and the aesthetics. You'll see some amazing set-pieces along with some stylish special effects. The chase scene with The Joker, SWAT and Batman deserves high praise especially when Bats is on the Bat-Pod. The camera shots and some sharp editing make it even a more incredible sequence. The Interrogation scene also deserves credit for the clever touches that are implemented and a stirring, sinister orchestral score will send chills down your spine. The same goes to Christopher Nolan who has some of the most exciting and thought-provoking camera work throughout the movie especially for the three scenes that I mentioned; In terms of his directing. The bar has officially been raised by The Dark Knight and any superhero movie will have a hard time topping this towering achievement. Good luck, Iron Man II.

***** out of *****

Pluses: Compelling Story and writing, Visually breathtaking, Awesome Direction

Minuses: Two-Face story goes by too fast

Cast
Christian Bale ... Bruce Wayne / Batman
Heath Ledger ... The Joker
Aaron Eckhart ... Harvey Dent / Two-Face
Michael Caine ... Alfred Pennyworth
Maggie Gyllenhaal ... Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman ... James Gordon
Morgan Freeman ... Lucius Fox
Cillian Murphy ... Scarecrow (cameo)
Eric Roberts ... Salvatore Maroni
Ritchie Coster ... The Chechen
Anthony Michael Hall ... Mike Engel
Nestor Carbonell ... Mayor Anthony Garcia
William Fichtner ... Bank Manager
Michael Jai White ... Gambol

Original Music by
James Newton Howard
Hans Zimmer

Cinematography by
Wally Pfister (director of photography)

Film Editing by
Lee Smith

Casting by
John Papsidera

Production Design by
Nathan Crowley

Produced by
Kevin De La Noy .... executive producer
Jordan Goldberg .... associate producer
Philip Lee .... line producer: Hong Kong
Karl McMillan .... production associate producer
Benjamin Melniker .... executive producer
Christopher Nolan .... producer
Charles Roven .... producer
Emma Thomas .... producer
Thomas Tull .... executive producer
Michael E. Uslan .... executive

Directed by
Christopher Nolan