Film Review: The Dark Knight
Through twenty years of life, I can say without hesitation that no movie during that time has been hyped as much as The Dark Knight. The sequel to the excellent Batman Begins attacked a long while back with a brilliant viral marketing scheme, and has held the film and comic worlds hostage ever since it was announced. I saw The Dark Knight at its midnight showing, on a night when my local theater set a record for most tickets sold for a show.
Every person who can read these words has surely been exposed to the universal excitement for this movie. From the amazing trailer to the aforementioned underground advertising, and of course the sad death of Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight has had a ton of news surrounding it. I honestly will be very surprised if it does not shatter every opening weekend record over the next several days. The most important part of all of this is that the movie, though I thought it impossible, actually lived up to the hype.
The Dark Knight picks up essentially where Batman Begins left off, and it is quite a ride from there. The story-line is gripping and had me completely engaged through its entire two and a half hour run time. I can only describe TDK as an epic superhero film, a quality it is able to achieve because of its length. The length was not a problem however. The twists and developments in the story coupled with the explosive action sequences provide plenty of material that will ensure the audience is never bored.
The length also allows for an amazing level of character development, and that is especially appreciated for this spectacular set of comic book personalities. There are so many important members including Bruce Wayne/Batman, The Joker, Harvey Dent, Rachel Dawes (now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal), James Gordon and even Alfred among many others. Nearly every single one of them grows or changes immensely during the film. This large assortment contributes to the epic nature of the movie, and is key in putting the audience into Gotham City.
The acting in TDK is simply superb (with the exception of Christian Bale’s Batman voice, which I found slightly strange). I loved the performances of the entire cast, but let me address the prevailing theme of Dark Knight discussion: the performance by Heath Ledger. His death definitely changed many people’s perspective of the film, and in fact the event may be influencing many people’s judgment (including me). Regardless of these factors I can say without question his role as The Joker is flawless.
In my opinion Ledger’s Joker is the best comic book villain ever to hit the screen. His interpretation of how The Joker would talk and move is so unique, and yet after seeing The Dark Knight I cannot imagine The Joker acting any other way. The Joker stole the show as the psychotic, troubled maniac complete with a signature haunting laugh. He was disturbing, frightening, intimidating, and sometimes hilarious all at the same time. I also appreciated the raw costume design that enhanced Ledger’s acting. His performance was perfectly done.
Ledger’s example of quality and intensity spread throughout the rest of the movie as well. The Dark Knight is extremely suspenseful and fierce. The grittiness of Gotham is extended into the dark, unflinching presentation of the film. The violence is just as sordid and occurs just as frequently as you would expect from a city filled with deranged criminals. There were many moments where I was either on the edge of my seat with anticipation, or being blown away by an action sequence. The movie is mature and real while still retaining its comic book feel.
The Dark Knight stands as one of the best superhero movies ever created, if not the best. There are certainly some minor weaknesses, but they are so trivial when compared to the ambition of the film and the success it achieves in almost every one of its aspects. I highly recommend The Dark Knight and I personally will be seeing it again before it leaves theaters.
9.5/10
Special note: If you enjoy comic book or superhero movies like I do, you will definitely want to see the trailer for Watchmen. It plays before The Dark Knight, so if you would rather wait to see it on the big screen ignore that link. I am already so excited for the adaptation of another one of my favorite comics.
July 19th, 2008 | 10:10 am
you wrote this review like it was the greatest one ever but then gave it a 9.5/10. could this be from the controversy that started from wall-e’s preposterous rating?
im not going to argue that it is a great movie, i have not seen it, i’m just going to say that i do not think that it is the most highly publicized movie ever because frankly i know very, very little about it. essentially all i know is that bale plays batman. yes i have seen previews on tv and the like but if asked i would say that it got the same hype as any other supposedly great movie that comes out every couple of months. again, not like this matters, it could still be a great movie, but i just don’t think that this movie has been the most highly publicized in the last 20 years if i know barely anything about it (not saying i’m a film critic, but i do watch my fair share of tv).
either way this will not be one of my favorites because i just don’t like comic book movies because i was never into any of them and find them kinda gay. spiderman 1 is the only one that i have thought to be decent. i don’t even bother with the other ones.
i think the movie that should be the most highly publicized is hellboy 2 and its records numbers with hellboy one.
July 19th, 2008 | 11:23 am
All I can say is Justin’s review seems pretty solid to me. I have a problem with longer movies and this one was a longer one. Where as most movies that are 2.5 hours long would be greatly suffered this one didn’t. I felt the length, but I wasn’t bored and overly anxious for it to end. Action scenes were awesome and Joker was amazing. I’d say this was a 9.5 also. But wall-e wasn’t a 10, it’s a 9. All I can say about Mark’s comment is lol.
July 19th, 2008 | 11:55 am
@mark: Though The Dark Knight has its roots in comics and still has a superhero feel, it really is crafted more like a crime movie than anything. There is the same level of intensity and drama in TDK as any “serious” film. I think that is part of the reason that it can be enjoyed by both superhero fans and non-superhero fans alike. The other part being Batman rules and everyone knows it.
July 19th, 2008 | 5:27 pm
batman may rule only to some people, but the tiz drools and everyone knows it.
July 19th, 2008 | 6:57 pm
i cant wait to see tdk and it may be a 9.5/10, probably is, and there is no way wall-e is better, and the tiz drools. get silly bruce wayne, get silly tiz, get silly jbomb.
get silly wal-e, you’re no ten. if you are, then my name aint ben and it is, so get silly, mr tiz.
July 19th, 2008 | 9:45 pm
I won’t comment on the much debated wall-e review. However, simply put, the Dark Knight is the stand out film of our generation. 10/10 easily the best film I have seen in years.
July 19th, 2008 | 11:38 pm
@Brian: Would have been a 10 for me, but 2.5 hours is too long of a movie for a 10. Had it been a couple scenes short, 10 without a doubt.
July 20th, 2008 | 1:54 am
@Brian: I saw it for the second time tonight. I noticed a lot of things in more detail the second time around, the sound in particular. It set the mood of each scene so well, especially that oft repeated suspense note as I will call it. Ledger/The Joker blew me away again. Excellent film.
@Tiz: I do not think length was a problem. Tonight it actually felt like it flew, but that could be because I knew what was coming.
Having a second go, I stand by my rating of 9.5 and I am just about ready to proclaim it the best superhero movie of all time.
July 20th, 2008 | 11:48 am
Absolutely awesome film. Xane rolls like Bruce Wayne. And…How can Wall-E be scored higher than this? It’s just outrageous.
July 20th, 2008 | 3:38 pm
i agree with the 9.5 rating thoroughly. there were things that i didnt like, but im not giving away any spoiled for my review so either wait, or get silly.
July 20th, 2008 | 8:46 pm
I enjoyed Wall-E a lot. I gave it an 8.5/10. So don’t think I’m Wall-E bashing you here. But… I do think that you know TDK is a better film than Wall-E, whether you say it or not. If you really do believe that it’s a better film than thats cool… but I’m not sure thats possible.
TDK (to me) has raised the bar in movies because it took the role of a villain to a new level.
As far as you saying that The Joker is the best Superhero movie villain of all time I will raise you by saying I thought Ledgers performance was the greatest as a villain in any movie… ever. I’m not talking blindly here either. I truly think that out of every movie I have ever seen involving a villain, this was by far the best I have seen. The Joker was so unreal creepy it was ridiculous. I loved it.
I agree with your 9.5/10 rating. I take the 0.5 off for Batman’s voice. It was unnecessary and at points difficult to understand. But Wall-E cannot be a better film dude. Period.
Everything said, solid review. Great movie. Seeing it for the 2nd time tomorrow in IMAX.
July 20th, 2008 | 10:05 pm
anytime xane slips in get silly i laugh so hard.
July 21st, 2008 | 12:15 am
Take off .5 for the new Rachel not for Batman’s voice. He changes his voice to seem more frightening and to disguise who he is.
This movie was instantly catapulted into my favorite movies of all time because of all the insanity that occurred over its 2.5 hours. Seeing it in a packed theater at midnight after it was introduced by a short fat man claiming to be the Penguin and getting to turn and see Justin freaking out at different times throughout the movie only added to this masterpiece . “Why so serious?” is a line I will quote from now on. Heath, why did you ruin the chance or a reoccurring character? Why?
July 21st, 2008 | 12:21 am
I heard that playing the joker led to his death. That’s not sarcastic
July 21st, 2008 | 12:47 am
i thought this movie was great, joker was truly the main character of the film, i would take off the .5 from the movie for the unnecessary motorcycle matrix flip that batman did. my favorite part was the disappearing pencil trick, and when joker explodes the hospital in the nurses costume and then jumps in the back of a school bus that was waiting for him for some reason.
July 21st, 2008 | 1:08 am
I just saw it for the second time in two nights, it was once again amazing. I would definitely agree with Josh that his voice is ridiculous. It makes me laugh though. None the less, it didn’t have to be so ridiculous. I hate when movies get a new actor/actress to play the same character (Rachel).
I definitely loved this movie. It ruled, Wall-E drools.
“Rules/drools” has been used so much on your sites by me and Mark.
@Mark: I heard that Ledger’s role as the Joker became so serious to him that people were afraid to be around him off set because he was so engulfed in staying in character. That could have been a reason for his overdose.
July 21st, 2008 | 9:38 am
heath was clearly on prescription drugs in order to be soooo serious for the movie and then couldnt get off the drugs cuz he was gettin too silly. maggie gyllenhaal is a pathetic excuse for katie holmes.
July 21st, 2008 | 9:43 am
Batman broke pretty much every opening record for box office tickets there are. I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Batmans voice was a little rediculous but I wouldn’t take off .5 for it(or anything for that matter) The matrix motorcycle flip was awesome. Can’t wait for this movie to come out on DVD so I can netflix it.
July 21st, 2008 | 10:45 am
i cant wait for the Batman.The.Dark.Knight.DVDrip.AC3.aXXo.avi release
July 21st, 2008 | 10:52 am
yeah i heard that he gets so engulfed in the characters that he plays in movies that he has a hard time getting out of character. having to play such a dark evil character affected him internally and therefore led to his death.
July 21st, 2008 | 10:56 am
mark wishes he was with heath on a camping trip after brokeback mountain…
July 21st, 2008 | 12:05 pm
my favorite line in the movie joker: why…so…serious…just…get…silly
July 21st, 2008 | 1:41 pm
I wasnt thrilled about the new batman, because the last movie didn’t really do anything for me. I would say it was above average. But with all the reviews I am seeing, yours included. it seems like a must watch (probably see it today)
July 21st, 2008 | 9:05 pm
he broke me from the back.
July 21st, 2008 | 9:21 pm
For those who are questioning the decision about Maggie Gyllenhaal over Katie Holmes: Katie Holmes was offered the part and turned it down.
July 21st, 2008 | 10:35 pm
Adding onto what Justin just said…
Katie Holmes turned down the role to be in the movie “Mad Money,” with Queen Latifa and Diane Keaton.
That movie has an imdb.com rating of 5.2. TDK has a 9.6 currently and is being discussed as possibly being the greatest movie ever made.
Good choice Holmes. Clearly Tom Cruise used his sorcery on that decision.
July 21st, 2008 | 10:36 pm
Oh and I just saw the movie for the second time.
Still amazing.
Batman’s voice is worse the 2nd time around though… which isn’t good.
July 22nd, 2008 | 1:14 am
i just saw it for the first time. it was awesome. the only complaint i have is the length. it was too long. i had no problem at all with maggie. the joker was absolutely unbelievably good. best movie of all time, no. best of the year, yes. great, yes.
July 22nd, 2008 | 1:34 am
mark and i saw it together tonight…i cannot explain how unbelievably tense i was the entire time. i now have a headache from the craziness. needless to say, it was amazing…and so was heath.
July 22nd, 2008 | 9:49 am
you guys are nuts. maggie sucked. she was pathetic. i know why katie turned the role down. it had to do with tom cruise and aaron eckhart.
July 22nd, 2008 | 10:29 am
haha xane knows. he was in on the decision.
July 22nd, 2008 | 12:34 pm
Aaron Eckhart and Julianne are just like Xane.
July 22nd, 2008 | 2:14 pm
Justin you are dead on. The movie for me would have been a perfect 10/10 if it wasn’t for the voice Bale used when he was in his Batman costume. There were a couple of times in the movie when his stupid raspy voice came close to ruining scenes for me. Also, I loved the Watchmen trailer. I hadn’t seen it before, and it was awesome to see for the first time on the big screen. Another trailer that has me intrigued was the one for the new Terminator movie starring Christian Bale. He might be what that franchise needs to get back on the right track.
July 22nd, 2008 | 2:44 pm
tom crusie didnt want holmes gettin silly with aaron eckhart again like she did in “thank you for smoking”. therefore, tom cruise ruined the dark knight.
July 22nd, 2008 | 11:23 pm
ha okay, that last comment that i supposedly wrote about xane knowing was definitely a comment by mark…he’s just too dense to notice that he was commenting under my name and not his
July 23rd, 2008 | 1:00 pm
Maggie Gyllenhall is a better actress than Katie Holmes, and did a better job. The Watchmen book was fantastic, and the movie looks incredible as well.
July 23rd, 2008 | 1:46 pm
This movie was awesome. I believe that 9.5/10 is a very accurate score.
Obviously, I loved the movie, Joker, and everything else (I didn’t think that the Batman voice was that bad), but the thing I liked least was the acting of Maggie Gyllenhall.
Honestly, while watching I felt that her acting wasn’t convincing, and at points just plain bad. This isn’t a comparison to Katie Holmes; I just felt that Maggie Gyllenhall could have done a better, more convincing job as an actress.
P.S. To whom it concerns: stop comparing this rating to the one Wall-e received. If you’re going to rip the Wall-e rating, rip it on based on its own merit. Comparing ratings for two completely different movies, in different genres, which were rated for specific and separate reasons is just silly.
July 23rd, 2008 | 3:10 pm
i absolutely agree that mags was unconvincing as rachel dawes. that being said, im glad shes dead.
additionally, i also found one of justins comment blacklisted words in a previous post. it’s under-ware, spelled wear. hilarious.
July 23rd, 2008 | 9:19 pm
i thought maggie did a fine job. i thought xane did a sub-par job. either way i will make buck silly by once again saying that it does not matter the incredible differences between this movie and wall-e. no matter the differences it is impossible to say that as a movie in general, wall-e was better. wall-e and buck are getting too silly.
July 23rd, 2008 | 10:53 pm
saw it again tonight for the second time….still good. still 9.5
July 24th, 2008 | 10:02 pm
saw it again last night. still awesome, and maggie sucked even more. and so did wall-e. and mark got real silly.