Christopher Nolan’s second installment of Batman exceeds every critic’s already high expectations. It not only satisfies our lust for the action-packed, super-hero thriller, but it also dives deep into our soul and questions our own moral stability as a sprawling epic crime drama, where Gotham itself, is the most haunting of characters. A place where villains prey on the weak and thrive on the corrupt.
Christian Bale, as the already brilliantly established billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, manages to “wow” us again as the deeply conflicted Batman. A dark hero who’s radical symbolism of justice becomes questioned by the citizens he’s sworn to protect. A hero torn between two worlds: A city engulfed by its own corruption and deceit and overwhelmed by psychotic madmen; and a city who’s found its true crime fighting golden-boy in newly appointed District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).
The aforementioned Aaron Eckhart, plays the under-rated and overshadowed character, who’s persistence and perseverance has brought Gotham City on the brink of righteousness, but on the edge of anarchy. However, with the help of the incorruptible DA, Gotham’s own human battering ram in the fight against organized crime, Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) has mad it his personal vendetta to rid Gotham City of the mob. Solid performances by both players.
However, the reason The Dark Knight broke every record, becoming the biggest blockbuster in the history of cinema, lies with the late Heat Ledger. His show stealing, crowd pleasing performance jaw-dropped everyone and their fathers, who The Joker even hated. I found myself laughing, not at the funny one-liners or the humorous antics he had hidden up his sleeves, nor was it how hilarious he looked in the outlandish nurse’s outfit. It was how psychologically imbalanced he portrayed The Joker. The menacing clown in the crackling white war paint, with the blood-red ear-to-ear smile. He was perfect, steam rolling down the streets of Gotham City in an 18 wheeler, playing chicken with Batman. Yelling, “Come on, Hit Me!” and devilishly saying, “oooh, ya wanna play.” It was ridiculous how deep he explored this character, and how scary he became. Ledger’s Joker is by far the best performance of the year, and truly post-humous Oscar worthy.
Christopher Nolan, on the other hand, is rising and quickly establishing himself as Hollywood’s most innovative director. Once again re-teaming with brother, Jonathan, the Nolan’s crafted an impeccable script and with popular non-linear films like Memento and The Prestige, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan have made some of the most unique films in recent history.
imdb – 9.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
moviewiseguys – 9.5/10
Stamp it! It’s a made movie.
