The movie that tops all of the hit summer blockbusters has arrived. As predicted, "The Dark Knight" delivered in more ways than one. The cast returned and dazzled the silver screen. Christopher Nolan has done amazing work to the follow up film of Batman Begins. Action, it's there. Sadistic sarcasm from a creepy yet undeniably entertaining character? Absolutely. But this film has taken the Batman story above and beyond into a whole new dimension of raw crime and the elements of the human condition at their best. Good and evil don't just battle in this movie -- they beat each other to a pulp.
Christian Bale once again drew the audience in with his very human portrayal of Batman. In "The Dark Knight," he faces the choice of giving up the Bat-regime or continuing as the well-known vigilante, Gotham's savior. But as the Batman becomes known as more of a crazed than heroic vigilante, Bruce Wayne decides to pass the title of "Gotham's savior" to the new hero in town, district attorney Havey Dent.
Not only does Dent take Wayne's role in the city, but he also snags the love of Wayne's life: longtime friend Rachel Dawes, played in this film by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Although many may miss Katie Holmes' more classic good looks, Gyllenhaal was better suited for the role as the feisty district attorney. She brought spunk to the character and shined in the scene where she confronts the Joker face-to-face as she tries to stop him from hurting a civilian.
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The psychotic joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, was nothing less than extraordinary. Ledger, as the youngest actor ever to play the Joker, has even Jack Nicholson beat on this character. Miles away from the slightly funny version of the character played by Nicholson, Ledger took the role above and beyond psychotic, creepy and even humorous. In the opening scene you'd be intrigued to see how clearly his alliance is to no one but himself. He stages a robbery which turns into a scene out of "Lord of the Flies," in which there is only one winner/survivor at the end. Ledger's knack for making the audience laugh during the film was because of his insane mentality surrounding his actions. "I don't want to kill you," the Joker says to Batman. "You complete me." Talk about a far-beyond-healthy obsession between a villain and a hero. As Batman beats him, the Joker laughs, relishing in his ultimate goal of enticing the Batman out of heroics and into supreme chaos.
Michael Caines' witty sarcasm produced laughs, and his role portrays that of the father figure that Bruce had to grow up without. However, Alfred harbors a secret from the billionaire playboy to keep his spirits up as the duties of being the caped crusader take a whole new toll on Bruce's life.
Lucius Fox, played once again by Morgan Freeman, is back in the scene as well, creating Batman a new and improved Batsuit. This one that has more mobility in the headpiece and a different kind of protection. But Nolan loves to draw audience members closer to the edges of their seats, and Fox finds that his own standards for helping Batman are not being delivered in the manner he so intended.
Aaron Eckhart was an excellent choice for Harvey Dent. As he is known as the law's hero in Gotham, he also has the heart of Rachel Dawes, a painful sight for Bruce to see. He intends to make Batman pay for a horrible mistake that in part leads to his transformation into Harvey Two-Face. I won't tell you how he looks, but I will describe it in one word: gruesome. With the personality transformation, Eckhart his ability to portray the two sides of his character.
The script, written by Nolan and his brother, was carefully thought-out. Every detail was rendered from notes on the original Batman works of Bob Kane. The imagination and spectacle that went into the writing was great and performed off of the paper even better. The movie had you guessing, with surprises around every corner. The only complaint I have heard is that the film is a bit long, clocking in at two and a half hours. But really, it's worth all of that screen time.
Do not wait for this flick to hit DVD. If you are looking for an amazing story, action, fire and some dry -- yet well-placed -- humor, then you must see "The Dark Knight" immediately!
Grade: A+
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