In this movie review, we’ll be discussing The Dark Knight. After the great success of Batman Begins, the film franchise could easily be nicknamed “Batman Resurrection.”   The Caped Crusader was back, and with over $370 million in box office receipts, it could mean only one thing . . . a sequel!   Of course, making a follow up doesn’t guarantee a great film or even a good film.  Many times it guarantees a flop, case in point, Batman Returns.  But, Batman Begins had perfectly laid out the groundwork to ensure that The Dark Knight would be a box office smash. Simply put, Batman Begins gave The Dark Knight a lot of great material to work with.  It had established Bruce Wayne as a sympathetic, multi-dimensional character.  It had a strong storyline, featuring a cast of well-developed supporting characters.  It also had the talents of Christopher Nolan, who was set to return to direct and co-write the screenplay.  And, they still had the Joker available to use as the main villain after barely a mention of him in the previous movie.  The ingredients were in place for another monster hit.

In the beginning of The Dark Knight, audiences are introduced to a much different Gotham City than in Batman Begins. Thanks to Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon’s efforts, the city’s crime rate has decreased and the criminals are losing money, influence, and power.  In desperation, the criminals agree to join forces with a wild, unpredictable clown named “The Joker.”  The Joker promises to solve all their problems by killing Batman. However, the criminals don’t realize that the Joker thrives on chaos and enjoys seeing how much he can destroy Gotham in the process.  As the Joker wreaks havoc on the city, another new player enters the scene, Harvey Dent.  Dent is the new district attorney, who aggressively fights crime and demands transparency within the police department, and Batman’s covert activities.  Adding further tension to Bruce Wayne’s life, Dent becomes engaged to Rachel Dawes whos was Wayne’s love interest in the first film. We learn that Wayne still has feelings for her and is convinced that she would marry him once he gives up the cape.  

Wayne is also convinced that the Joker is nothing more than a petty criminal, who can be dealt with like the other bad guys. He ignores his butler Alfred’s warning that the Joker is more complex and unpredictable than the average criminal. The Joker’s crime spree begins with the murders of a judge, the police commissioner, and even a man posing as Batman.  He demands that Batman reveal his identity or else the murders will continue.  In an attempt to stop the Joker, Bruce decides to turn himself in and accept the Joker’s demands.  However, before he can follow through with this decision, Harvey steps up and announces that he is Batman.  Harvey is then transported by the police to a prison in an effort to lure the Joker out into the open.  The plan works and the Joker is apprehended and taken to jail. 

Even behind bars, the Joker’s destruction continues. He reveals to Batman and Gordon that he has captured Rachel and Harvey and tied them up to explosives.  Worse yet, the Joker warns that there is only time to rescue one of them.  Batman and Gordon make the difficult decision to rescue Dent, but they fail to reach him before the flames destroy half of Harvey’s face and end Rachel’s life.  The Joker escapes from prison and meets up with the badly scarred and extremely angry Dent.  He persuades Dent to take his rage out on the police department and the other criminals.  This means Batman is now faced with the challenge of recapturing the Joker and apprehending Harvey before Gotham is consumed by their madness and chaos.

To say The Dark Knight is a darker film than its predecessor would be a gross understatement.  While Batman Begins is an action/drama movie, The Dark Knight is more of a psychological thriller.  I was never comfortable watching The Dark Knight and sat helplessly the whole time as I witnessed the Joker’s reign of terror.  His plans and schemes were clever and had a trace of insanity that made them even more unsettling.  No one was safe and his utter destruction of the honorable Harvey Dent was the biggest triumph for the clown prince.  He enjoyed matching wits with Batman, who he sees him more like a toy and a worthy adversary.  From the bank robbery to the climax, the Joker never allows you a moment to catch your breath. By the end of the film, I felt completely worn out from the sheer madness of his character.  

The dramatic effect of Joker’s character in the story is further enhanced by Christopher Nolan’s superb screenplay.  His screenplay at first depicts Gotham City as a peaceful metropolis, content with Batman and Lieutenant Gordon at the helm.  Once the Joker enters the picture, this sense of comfort begins to fade.  Gotham City eventually dissolves into a place where the law is powerless to protect its citizens and no one is safe.  The corrupt transformation of the city is represented by the demise of Harvey Dent’s character.  It is pulled off beautifully with the symbolic evolution of Harvey Dent, who shifts from a hero to a crazed vigilante.  By the end of the film, the picture asks us to ponder if the Joker was indeed the victor.  The answer is not as easy as it seems.

Heath Ledger gives a remarkable performance as the Joker and deserves all the critical acclaim he received for this role. Initially, I questioned the casting of the 10 Things I Hate about You star as the Joker.  However, he successfully proved that my doubts were unfounded when I saw his great portrayal of the insidious villain.  Also, not to be overlooked is Aaron Eckhart’s portrayal of Harvey Dent.  I could easily make the argument that Eckhart’s performance was just as pivotal to the success of the film as Ledger’s acting.  Eckhart is the epitome of the good looking, heroic Harvey Dent and brilliantly portrays this character’s disintegration into a disfigured madman.   Eckhart’s talent is best demonstrated by his portrayal of Dent’s gut-wrenching devastation over Rachel’s death.  The raw emotion that he brings to his character was brutally excellent. Overall, Ledger and Eckhart’s performances are largely responsible for the great success of the film.

The rest of the cast were generally great as well.  I really enjoyed Gary Oldman’s continued excellence as Gordon, Morgan Freeman’s graceful elegance as Lucius, and Michael Caine offering another brilliant, tenderhearted performance as Alfred.  Christian Bale was also great as Bruce Wayne and pretty good as Batman, as long as his voice was on the volume level of 7 and not 10.  I wasn’t crazy about the recasting of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel, who was played by Katie Holmes in the first movie.  Critics have argued that Gyllenhaal was the better actress and that the chemistry between Holmes and Bale was flat.  Gyllenhaal may be the more talented actress, but I thought her chemistry with Bale was worse.  Holmes had a likability quality that Gyllenhaal lacked.  Either way, I thought Gyllenhaal was just adequate.

This film also has some exceptionally memorable action sequences.  The battle taking place during Harvey’s prison transfer is one of the most thrilling action moments ever done in a film.   Other highlights include the Joker’s bank heist, Batman’s capture of Lau at Hong Kong, and the intense climactic ending.  Christopher Nolan deserves a lot of credit for his ability to give these scenes added tension.  He raises the stakes in a genre that is usually relegated to an average car chase or a lethargic gun battle.  Unlike other action movies, the action scenes in The Dark Knight build upon the story instead of disrupting it.  

The Dark Knight is an excellent film.  It’s not a fun film but an emotionally powerful movie that illustrates how fragile humans are when they are faced with adversity and tragedy.  It’s unfortunate that Ledger died shortly after completing The Dark Knight. It would have been interesting to see how his character further developed in the third film.  As it is, his memorable performance as the Joker is terrific and a good example of a psychotic, yet fascinating character.  It is a triumph for Christopher Nolan to direct and write a film that is just as good as Batman Begins, but yet so different in mood and scope.  If Alfred Hitchcock ever made a big budget action film, The Dark Knight would be it.  It’s no surprise that this film is ranked among the top best action films ever.  I just wish that like Batman Begins, it would be ranked among the best films of all time.