The Dark Knight

THE DARK KNIGHT
WB
RELEASED 24 July 2008
I remember when the first modern-day ‘Batman’ movie was released back in 1989. It was a pop culture phenomenon. That Bat logo was plastered over every magazine and T-Shirt in the country, Prince was number one in the charts with ‘Batdance’, adults were picking up lauded graphic novels such as ‘Watchmen’ and ‘The Dark Knight Returns’ and Jack Nicholson was picking up a reputed $60 million payday and the top billing, while Bruce Wayne (played by Michael Keaton) was relegated to second fiddle in his own movie. A darker version of the character than we’d seen in the camp 60s version, three sequels followed that deteriorated in quality, with the final ‘Batman and Robin’ disaster almost stopping George Clooney from becoming a movie star.
Skip forwards eight years to 2005’s ‘Batman Begins’, and we were treated to an even darker, more realistic caped crusader, brought to us by Britain’s talented director Christopher Nolan (Memento). Everything was grounded in reality, from the kevlar armoured batsuit to the tank-like Batmobile (never called this in the film, instead referred to as the ‘Tumbler’). The villans had no superpowers, and the corrupt world of Gotham is a nightmarish future vision of any big city.
Although a critical and commercial success, the movie probably passed many by as just another Batman movie, but ‘The Dark Knight’ has the trump card that has been getting so many people into the cinema since it opened in the US ($314 million in ten days, the fastest-grossing movie ever). The Joker is one of the most recognisable villans in literature, and the unfortunate death of actor Heath Ledger not long after wrapping filming gives this movie an extra goulish viewing factor. That his performance is being talked of in Oscar terms is just a small part of a hugely successful movie.
The movie starts out with gang of clown-masked robbers doing a bank job, taking money that belongs to the mob. The gang turn on each other until only one remains standing, removing his mask to reveal himself as The Joker (Heath Ledger). We first see the Batman defeat the Scarecrow again (one of the last movie’s villans), and in collaboration with the new District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), the triumvirate are finally winning the fight against organised crime in Gotham. But The Joker offers his services to the mob bosses, and chaos and anarchy soon filters through to the streets. The public are scared, and The Joker’s reign of terror seems to have no limits. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as lawyer Rachel Dawes, and also returning from ‘Batman Begins’ are Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as the ‘Q’-like gadget master Lucius Fox.
‘The Dark Knight’ is the most realistic comic-book movie yet, and it bears similarities to classic crime thrillers like ‘Heat’ and ‘The Departed’. Obviously, this wouldn’t be a Batman film without some wonderful toys, and ‘Bats’ has a new bike (called the Batpod, which is surprisingly introduced) and some Bat-sonar trickery. There doesn’t seem to be as much action as you might expect from a summer blockbuster, but this two and a half hour film revels in it’s tight plot, memorable script, and fantastic performances, notably Ledger, Eckhart, and Bale. Gyllenhaal is fine as the new Rachel Dawes, but like Holmes before her, it’s a pretty thin role.
‘The Dark Knight’ is the real deal – a summer blockbuster that lives up to the title. A must-see movie.
FIVE OUT OF FIVE