Movie:
The Dark Knight
Certificate:
12A
Release:
July 24
Cast:
Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman
Plot Outline:
Gotham is plagued by a crime wave unlike any seen before
A dark film, this. Set almost directly after the events in Batman Begins. The Dark Knight allows you to delve deeper into the mindset of Bruce Wayne, as he lives a dual-life as The Batman. The direction of the movie takes you on a thrill-ride with as many twists and turns as there are streets in Gotham. There are elements of humour in there, but they are for the most part a subtle blend of sarcasm and irony.
The cast is, as in Batman Begins, wonderfully put together. Each main member of the cast puts in a great performance. And there in lies the big problem.
The Joker, played by
Heath Ledger with such surreal authenticity, steals almost all the scenes that he is in. His entrance, during the main movie, (not the opening sequence) is just a fascinating look at psychosis and dementia. He plays such a good role that, considering the circumstances surrounding his untimely departure, people seem to be focusing on his role, and overlooking the other roles. Whispers of oscar-nominated performances are spreading like wildfire.
Is it the Curse of the White Mask at work? It feels like The Crow all over again. Bear in mind that Brandon Lee died whilst playing a mentally-disturbed (albeit due to his murder) individual daubed in face paint, and played it so well that it became a legendary protrayal of a cult character. And Brandon seemed to get overlooked for so many posthumous awards. Is the Joker performance over-hyped? Yes, but only slightly. But that little bit is enough to detract from the other great performances.
Christian Bale, as Bruce Wayne, seems to get more under the skin of his character, becoming more in tune with the playboy, and even more so with the Bat. The air of confidence he has at the beginning of the movie evolves and takes on new forms by the end, whilst retaining much of the initial sense of frustration at the official law enforcement forces. He develops and grows with every new gadget that it introduced to his arsenal and seems able to separate both his personas regardless of the events that occur. Of course, what good movie would allow the hero to get away with that for too long.
Aaron Eckhart, as Harvey Dent, is a genuine made-for-the-role casting choice. He has a charm that is unshakable in his convictions. Willing to take risks with his career to ensure that the City of Gotham is a safe, secure place to live, he accepts that decisions have to be made that will not always be popular. He IS Harvey Dent all the way through, and plays the final act so well that he reaches in and twists at your guts as you wonder what you would feel in that situation. A genuinely strong role.
Gary Oldman, is again, showing just how good an actor he is. One of the greatest proponants of mad, bad guys can also turn his hand at playing the good guy, even though the line between good and bad is straddled by the role on a few occasions, you know, just by the look on his face that he is regretting the actions that he has taken. Not the perfect policeman, he makes mistakes, takes gambles and puts peoples lives on the line in order to catch the bad guy.
Michael Caine, as Alfred, seems to revel in his role, telling Batman off is not something just anybody can do. It takes someone who loves and is loved by the Bat to be able to tell someone as strong and as over-the-edge as Bruce Wayne that he's being a very silly boy. Alfred is that permanent
Deux et Machina, able to provide Bruce with a tale of his past that helps Bruce get to grips with something that is troubling him. Very few actors would have been able, in my view, to carry that off. I put this down, in part, to Michael Caine drawing on the weight of all his many other roles to give that sense of authenticity when he speaks about his past. A very subtle, but beautifully played role.
Morgan Freeman, as Lucius Fox, is his usual restrained self. The line when he warns someone off from trying to blackmail Batman is just pure Freeman in its delivery. Not quite as prominent in the role as he was in the first film, he is still a joy to watch.
The plot is quite a simple one, but made complex by the seeming randomness of events. As a 12A it is quite violent, with some quite unsettling scenes that certainly could give a few kids some serious shocks. The action in the movie is great, but there seems to be so much happening in so many locations that the movie seems to have trouble focusing on a sequence for too long. It seems to jump about, but the story does still manage to flow, even though it seems like the editor has been at it with a hatchet.
Overall:
8.5/10 (The shadow cast over the movie regarding Heath Ledger is, I think, clouding the overall view of the movie and the great performances by the cast. I do see the potential for technical oscars, but I still don't think that, unless the Oscar committee is taken over by a bunch of teens and gamers, it should be in the running for some of the big oscars.)
In the long run the question is: Is it worth going to see at the cinema (or even better, the IMAX)...
OH HELL YEAH!!!
[Reply]
The Dark Knight
Starring: Lots of people
Seen at: Cinema
Not going to repeat everything that v85rawdeal mentioned above. He's summarized everything excellently.
My take on the movie? It's great. Definitely a worthy followup to Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan had one hell of a job to do in order to top the first film, and with The Dark Knight, I believe he's delivered the goods - in a big part, thanks to the exceptional cast. Heath Ledger has already been named a thousand times by nearly every movie critic as being the star of the show, and I won't disagree. His portrayal of The Joker is decidedly
vicious.
The only negative things I've got to mention is that at times, the plot does seem to wander a bit too much, and there's parts that drag on a bit.
Bring on the third film!
Score: 8.7 out of 10
P.S. did anyone else love the pencil magic trick? Hilarious!
[Reply]
I rated it 5/10, some scenes were not bad, but extremely exaggerated. Ok, it's Superman, but already the first scene with the plane. Imagine such a scenario, the plane would have completely fallen apart in the first 10 seconds. And I hate love scenes in such movies, cut that out, I wanna see action, not Superman kissing his all time girlfriend over and over again, how many times have we seen it? I bet they'll do it again in the next movie.
That reminds me of the last Spiderman with its over-cheesy love scenes. Pure crap, that destroys a movie, why can't they just stick to action, and film love story movies for the sissies out there? I mean, HEY, it's Spidey.
[Reply]