Before football became the most central interest in my life, films were my passion. My uncle once expressed that films are made for the purpose of enterainment and it's up to the viewer to decide if they like a movie or not. While to an extent he has a point, I still feel that is a very simplistic statement to make about films. To me, some films are made for escapism; people can forget reality for a couple of hours and be drawn into an alerternate world that is shown to you on a television or cinema screen.
The Dark Knight was the movie that made me realise just how special some films are and even though I'm nowhere near the film enthusiast I once was, I will never forget the impact this movie had on me and how it opened my eyes to the beauty of cinema when at it's best. In this review I am going to go a bit of detail as to why I love it. Needless to say, this review will contain spoilers so if you wish to avoid me ruining the film for you, go no further.
The Dark Knight was the movie that made me realise just how special some films are and even though I'm nowhere near the film enthusiast I once was, I will never forget the impact this movie had on me and how it opened my eyes to the beauty of cinema when at it's best. In this review I am going to go a bit of detail as to why I love it. Needless to say, this review will contain spoilers so if you wish to avoid me ruining the film for you, go no further.
The Dark Knight (dir, Nolan, 2008) is the second installment of the The Dark Knight trilogy. The film revolves around Batman (Christian Bale) who, since the events of the previous film, Batman Begins (dir, Nolan, 2005), has reduced the amount of organised crime in Gotham City. He is aided by the newly promoted Lt Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Araon Eckhart) when the Joker (Heath Ledger) arrives and terrorises the City. The three men are pushed to the limits to try and stop the Joker. That is the primary plot in a nutshell but there is much more to the film that what people might think going to see it for the first time.
When I went to see The Dark Knight for the first time in the cinema, I actually didn't go for the movie. I went to see if they had a trailer for the next Harry Potter movie (at the time Half-Blood Prince) as I am a massive Harry Potter fan. To my disappointment they didn't show a trailer but then the film followed. On first viewing I didn't particularly pay attention to the story as I was just in awe at the action and the special effects.
I then went to see it four more times at the cinema and the film has since grown on me massively. Now I realised that the film had so much packed into the screenplay that you might have to watch it a few times to understand it all.
I hate it when people refer to The Dark Knight as a superhero movie. If people asked me what my favourite superhero film was, I would respond with Batman Begins because, to me, The Dark Knight is too good to be just a comic book film. Batman Begins and the third and final film, The Dark Knight Rises (dir, Nolan, 2012) were very good at developing the characters and the story, which is something I felt the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher movies lacked. But this one is just above the other two because it has so much more to it.
The Dark Knight starts with men in clown masks robbing a bank and follow the orders of the Joker. After killing each other one by one, the Joker himself is the last man standing. During the robbery the Joker reveals himself to a man who he shot and injured. When asked what he (as a criminal) believes in he then replies "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stranger." He then puts a grenade in the man's mouth and drives away in a school bus. As he drives away you could be forgiven in assuming he is going to trigger the grenade and kill him. Instead, a wire is pulled out of the grenade and a little smoke issues out.
Here is the first of many things in this film that still impresses me to this day. The Joker is the best movie villain I have ever seen in my life and not just because Heath Ledger delivers a truly outstanding and memorable performance. On first viewing he may seem crazy and illogical but after multiple viewings I since learned that his primary goal in the film is to create confusion and destruction; he even describes himself as "an agent of chaos". He doesn't really have a definitive plan and isn't interested in control and order as he likes to mess everything up. As Alfred explains to Bruce in the middle of the film, there are men who cannot be "bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with" as "some men just wanna watch the world burn." The unpredictability of the Joker is what makes him so fascinating to me. The Joker also may seem like a terrorist, but what he is doing is creating scenarios or "social experiments" to try and bring out the worst in Gotham's citizens, and indeed, humanity.
The Joker tells two conflicting stories early on about how he got his scars:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrIc1SlA7O8&list=PL3DFB501B327AFD24, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm_Z34Fyww8&list=PL3DFB501B327AFD24)
Because he tells two different stories, we are confused as to which one could be true. My assumption is both stories have no truth in them. This is another way which Nolan emphasises the idea of unpredictability and we are left questioning who the Joker actually is and so are the characters. At one point, the Joker is described as a "mad dog", meaning he is random and uncivilised.
Sometimes the biggest fear among people is the feeling of the unknown and the notion of uncertainty i.e. not knowing what question will come up in an exam or the uncertainty if you have succeeded in getting a job or not. These are issues which are very relatable and the protagonists of The Dark Knight are literally pushed to their limits by the Joker. To give one example, the Joker wants to prove that Batman is not the incorruptable force that he seems to be. At the end of a chase scene in the middle act of the movie, the Joker deliberately stands in the way of Batman, who is driving a motorcycle directly towards him. He continously shouts at Batman to hit him, even if he kills him. The idea is that if Gotham discovered Batman can be corrupted, then the criminals of Gotham mightn't be so afraid of him and then what hope has the city got if it's best chance of elimating criminalty is can be just as corrupt as its criminals. Harvey Dent is an example of this when he gets turned into Two-Face.
Harvey Dent is a very developed character in the film and the screenwriters as well as Aaron Eckhart deserve full credit for that. At the start of the film Dent is shown as a true District Attorney as he wants the best for Gotham and despises crime and corruption. At one stage in the film, he succeeds in locking up 549 criminals at the same time through the use of a Rico Case, which demonstrates his desire for justice. But in Dent's storyline, Nolan very cleverly uses two devices: foreshadowing and representation.
In one early scene in the film when Dent first meets Jim Gordon, Gordon says "We all know that you're Gotham's White Knight." Dent then responds: "I hear they have a different name for me down at MCU." Gordon, after stating he knows nothing about it, turns his head away awkwardly, not making eye contact with Dent. That "different name" is Two-Face and it is key as far as Dent's story is concerned. The representation is Dent's two headed coin, which he uses constantly throughout the movie. Many times there are subtle hints at Dent leaving decisions purely to chance, even if someone's life is in question but if viewers pay attention, Dent often says "heads" to make things work in his favour. He cannot lose if the coin is two-headed and, as we find out, Dent literally makes his own luck. Later on the coin is burned on one side and arguably a metaphor for both Dent and Gotham itself.
Batman and Gordon stand over Dent/Two-Face's body in the final scene of the film before Batman accepts responsibility for the murders committed and runs off from the cops, which sets up the next film. However, before hand he repeats the line "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." This same line was used towards the beginning of the film when Dent and his girlfriend Rachel Dawes are having dinner at a restaurant, Bruce Wayne and a ballerina named Natasha sit with them and they begin discussing the Batman.
The line of dying a hero or living long enough to see yourself become the villain cleverly sums up Dent's story. When Dent and Rachel are kidnapped and Batman and Gordon are forced to choose which one to save, Dent is saved and Rachel is killed. Aside from the fact that Dent and Rachel were a couple and her death hits him extremely hard, the choice of who to save was purely a 50-50 chance.
So Dent could have died when Rachel did and he would certainly have died a hero. But because he was physically and emotionally scarred by what happened he lived long enough to see himself become the villain. Batman uses this line again at the end, both referring to what has happened to Dent and referring to how he is seen as the villain because he has Gordon create a lie. This lie is that Batman killed all of those who Dent murdered and killed Dent himself. This, again, uses the line to good effect because it makes it out like Dent died the hero and Batman became the villain.
Another thing which I love about this movie is that the heroes in the story are all flawed in some way or another. Batman is looked up to by many as an ideal, but he and Gordon do not make the right decision in every curcumstance they face. Corruption is a theme here and I'm sure people in real life can relate to it. Politics and athourity can be corrupt and considering we, the public, look up to these people to make the right decisions, that is quite a worrying fact. But even David Cameron and Barack Obama make mistakes and that is simply a human trait, nobody is perfect, no matter however many people may wish themselves to be.
Not to mention I love how the special effects look very genuine and look like actual explosions, not just something lazily created by a computer. For example in the scene with the Joker trying to convince Batman to hit him with his motorcycle, a huge truck was flipped over in the process and it was actually done so it looks and sounds far more convincing.
Another thing which I feel The Dark Knight does well is expand upon the story set by Batman Begins. The first film was about Bruce deciding to become Batman but the first half or so of the film is about him creating the caped crusader. I think it worked brilliantly because not only did Christian Bale steal the show as Bruce Wayne, but there was a lot of thought as to how Bruce wanted Batman to be perceived, as a symbol, who could be incorruptable. That was mixed really well with all of the themes at play in that film.
The Dark Knight is not only a continuation from that story but it everyone else's reaction to Batman as an ideal. Obviously there is great debate about if what the Batman is doing is right. The restaurant scene explains everything better than I could. But another thing this scene serves is establishing Dent's character at this stage in the movie and makes the final third of the story all the more tragic.
As mentioned once or twice in this incredibly LOOOOOONNNNNGG review the acting here is of the highest quality. Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart in particular are the standout performers, both portraying their roles so convincingly that you forget actors are playing the Joker and Harvey Dent. It is such a big shame that Ledger is no longer with us to realise his performance got an oscar.
In conclusion, this movie was totally overlooked at the Oscars and there really needs to be variety in the judges. Arguably the biggest thing this movie does right is that it appeals to non-comic-book fans and can be seen as a great film free of the limitations of this genre. The characters are well written, the story refreshingly unpredictable and suspenseful and the action is kick-ass to say the least. As Confused Matthew says in his review: "The Dark Knight not only proves my rule, that a good film can come from anywhere, but a great film can come from anywhere. This movie, will stand, simply as a great film."
Confused Matthew on The Dark Knight:
Here is the first of many things in this film that still impresses me to this day. The Joker is the best movie villain I have ever seen in my life and not just because Heath Ledger delivers a truly outstanding and memorable performance. On first viewing he may seem crazy and illogical but after multiple viewings I since learned that his primary goal in the film is to create confusion and destruction; he even describes himself as "an agent of chaos". He doesn't really have a definitive plan and isn't interested in control and order as he likes to mess everything up. As Alfred explains to Bruce in the middle of the film, there are men who cannot be "bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with" as "some men just wanna watch the world burn." The unpredictability of the Joker is what makes him so fascinating to me. The Joker also may seem like a terrorist, but what he is doing is creating scenarios or "social experiments" to try and bring out the worst in Gotham's citizens, and indeed, humanity.The Joker tells two conflicting stories early on about how he got his scars:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrIc1SlA7O8&list=PL3DFB501B327AFD24, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm_Z34Fyww8&list=PL3DFB501B327AFD24)
Because he tells two different stories, we are confused as to which one could be true. My assumption is both stories have no truth in them. This is another way which Nolan emphasises the idea of unpredictability and we are left questioning who the Joker actually is and so are the characters. At one point, the Joker is described as a "mad dog", meaning he is random and uncivilised.
Sometimes the biggest fear among people is the feeling of the unknown and the notion of uncertainty i.e. not knowing what question will come up in an exam or the uncertainty if you have succeeded in getting a job or not. These are issues which are very relatable and the protagonists of The Dark Knight are literally pushed to their limits by the Joker. To give one example, the Joker wants to prove that Batman is not the incorruptable force that he seems to be. At the end of a chase scene in the middle act of the movie, the Joker deliberately stands in the way of Batman, who is driving a motorcycle directly towards him. He continously shouts at Batman to hit him, even if he kills him. The idea is that if Gotham discovered Batman can be corrupted, then the criminals of Gotham mightn't be so afraid of him and then what hope has the city got if it's best chance of elimating criminalty is can be just as corrupt as its criminals. Harvey Dent is an example of this when he gets turned into Two-Face.
Harvey Dent is a very developed character in the film and the screenwriters as well as Aaron Eckhart deserve full credit for that. At the start of the film Dent is shown as a true District Attorney as he wants the best for Gotham and despises crime and corruption. At one stage in the film, he succeeds in locking up 549 criminals at the same time through the use of a Rico Case, which demonstrates his desire for justice. But in Dent's storyline, Nolan very cleverly uses two devices: foreshadowing and representation.
In one early scene in the film when Dent first meets Jim Gordon, Gordon says "We all know that you're Gotham's White Knight." Dent then responds: "I hear they have a different name for me down at MCU." Gordon, after stating he knows nothing about it, turns his head away awkwardly, not making eye contact with Dent. That "different name" is Two-Face and it is key as far as Dent's story is concerned. The representation is Dent's two headed coin, which he uses constantly throughout the movie. Many times there are subtle hints at Dent leaving decisions purely to chance, even if someone's life is in question but if viewers pay attention, Dent often says "heads" to make things work in his favour. He cannot lose if the coin is two-headed and, as we find out, Dent literally makes his own luck. Later on the coin is burned on one side and arguably a metaphor for both Dent and Gotham itself.Batman and Gordon stand over Dent/Two-Face's body in the final scene of the film before Batman accepts responsibility for the murders committed and runs off from the cops, which sets up the next film. However, before hand he repeats the line "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." This same line was used towards the beginning of the film when Dent and his girlfriend Rachel Dawes are having dinner at a restaurant, Bruce Wayne and a ballerina named Natasha sit with them and they begin discussing the Batman.
The line of dying a hero or living long enough to see yourself become the villain cleverly sums up Dent's story. When Dent and Rachel are kidnapped and Batman and Gordon are forced to choose which one to save, Dent is saved and Rachel is killed. Aside from the fact that Dent and Rachel were a couple and her death hits him extremely hard, the choice of who to save was purely a 50-50 chance.
So Dent could have died when Rachel did and he would certainly have died a hero. But because he was physically and emotionally scarred by what happened he lived long enough to see himself become the villain. Batman uses this line again at the end, both referring to what has happened to Dent and referring to how he is seen as the villain because he has Gordon create a lie. This lie is that Batman killed all of those who Dent murdered and killed Dent himself. This, again, uses the line to good effect because it makes it out like Dent died the hero and Batman became the villain.
Another thing which I love about this movie is that the heroes in the story are all flawed in some way or another. Batman is looked up to by many as an ideal, but he and Gordon do not make the right decision in every curcumstance they face. Corruption is a theme here and I'm sure people in real life can relate to it. Politics and athourity can be corrupt and considering we, the public, look up to these people to make the right decisions, that is quite a worrying fact. But even David Cameron and Barack Obama make mistakes and that is simply a human trait, nobody is perfect, no matter however many people may wish themselves to be.
Not to mention I love how the special effects look very genuine and look like actual explosions, not just something lazily created by a computer. For example in the scene with the Joker trying to convince Batman to hit him with his motorcycle, a huge truck was flipped over in the process and it was actually done so it looks and sounds far more convincing.
Another thing which I feel The Dark Knight does well is expand upon the story set by Batman Begins. The first film was about Bruce deciding to become Batman but the first half or so of the film is about him creating the caped crusader. I think it worked brilliantly because not only did Christian Bale steal the show as Bruce Wayne, but there was a lot of thought as to how Bruce wanted Batman to be perceived, as a symbol, who could be incorruptable. That was mixed really well with all of the themes at play in that film.
The Dark Knight is not only a continuation from that story but it everyone else's reaction to Batman as an ideal. Obviously there is great debate about if what the Batman is doing is right. The restaurant scene explains everything better than I could. But another thing this scene serves is establishing Dent's character at this stage in the movie and makes the final third of the story all the more tragic.
As mentioned once or twice in this incredibly LOOOOOONNNNNGG review the acting here is of the highest quality. Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart in particular are the standout performers, both portraying their roles so convincingly that you forget actors are playing the Joker and Harvey Dent. It is such a big shame that Ledger is no longer with us to realise his performance got an oscar.
In conclusion, this movie was totally overlooked at the Oscars and there really needs to be variety in the judges. Arguably the biggest thing this movie does right is that it appeals to non-comic-book fans and can be seen as a great film free of the limitations of this genre. The characters are well written, the story refreshingly unpredictable and suspenseful and the action is kick-ass to say the least. As Confused Matthew says in his review: "The Dark Knight not only proves my rule, that a good film can come from anywhere, but a great film can come from anywhere. This movie, will stand, simply as a great film."
Confused Matthew on The Dark Knight:
http://confusedmatthew.com/The-Dark-Knight-Review.php
Superhero Rewind Review of The Dark Knight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCJdFLry3do
Superhero Rewind Review of The Dark Knight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCJdFLry3do
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