Movie Review: Batman - The Dark Knight (2008)

OVERALL: 9.5/10

Plot: 10/10
Cinematography: 8.5/10
Entertainment value: 9/10
Number of times I looked at my watch: 0
Movie to wait for DVD: No
Rewatchability: Yes
Movie to purchase: Yes

…”Let me show you a magic trick, I’m going to make this pencil disappear”…

This movie was highly anticipated and amazingly detail oriented.  The plot and character development were, no less, spectacular!  The movie included humour that was dark and dialogue that exceeded expectations.  The casting was chosen to perfection (Christian Bale, Health Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart).  Christopher Nolan has captured the audience, allowing to crush his previous Batman Begins prequel. 

There is no question that “The Joker” will ever been seen the same way again.  Heath Ledger’s acting was mesmorizing, believable and remarkable.  If there were anyone deserving of accolades, it would be his performance in this movie.  This is not a in memory of a tragic event but the honest low-down truth of reality.  His rendition of the character from the laughter all the way through to his demenor was pinpoint perfect.  His haunting voice, evil cackle, sloppy make-up and straw-like hair made it easy to see what The Joker was really meant to be. 

The movie was incredibly haunting with visual fx that were technically astounding.  The storyline included riddles of good and evil, turning quesitons on humanity into complex puzzles and trying to one up each puzzle to solve another.  There’s still no question that Batman is the protagonist and The Joker was the evil bad guy.  Though, Batman gets a taste of hatrid in Gotham city being called a vigilante and being the cause of deaths to officers and citizens.  Batman continues to questions whether his motives and actions are geared towards the right place and if he really is a hero to the people in Gotham. 

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villian”. 

The movie was so powerful putting a rollercoaster ride towards my emotions on the love story, morale dilemma and intriguing ethical decisions.  With The Joker’s diabolical schemes with the ferry’s and the interesting twist of character at the end with Harvey Dent, it certainly is a movie that will be watched again and being able to pick up the subtleties that I had missed the first round. 

Admitedly, the movie was slightly too long for my liking though I do understand the need for it’s length.  With line ups out the door and tickets being sold out in every location, a room full of people made the theatre very hot and thus uncomfortable through the end (last 45 minutes).  This has nothing to do with the actual movie itself but a point of reference to movie goer experience.  I was also surprised by the first 15 minutes of the film where the Joker robbed the bank, which was one of the first trailers I had ever seen for this movie about a year before release.  The sequence didn’t change one bit which did shock me slightly.  However, the beginning was just perfect for the lead-in to the film. 

This must be the year for movies — there has been just wonderful films out this year that encompasses such a different level of entertaining.  The Dark Knight really does take an epic film to a new level and launches into yet a new success for the Nolan brothers in creativity that is unparellel to most films in the industry.