newmans_own's Movie Review of The Dark Knight

Rating of
4/4

The Dark Knight

Nothing Short of a Masterpiece
newmans_own - wrote on 07/18/08

Having vividly revitalized arguably the most successful comic book franchise in film history with 2005’s BATMAN BEGINS, director Christopher Nolan now gives us the full extent of his abilities with THE DARK KNIGHT, a thrilling and momentous achievement that takes succeeds in taking itself seriously and becoming something much more than a mere superhero movie.

Nolan has set the film in a world that seems almost too-real, and therein lies its greatest strengths. Gone is the CGI aboveground subway that pervaded every block of the city in the first film, and the villains with mystical flowers and water vaporizers. In its place is a man who is referred to as a terrorist on more than one occasion. Ledger’s astonishing performance is a testament to this. For once, the villain manages to be truly terrifying. With his cackling giggle and magic disappearing tricks, The Joker is supremely effective because he’s so real. He is the type of madman who could easily be living in any large city around the world, waiting to strike. Ledger completely disappears into the role – unknowing viewers would never have guessed this was the guy from BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN or 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. He creates a completely different monster than Jack Nicholson’s iconic Joker in 1989’s BATMAN. With his wild swagger and make-up that appears to have been applied by gunshot, Ledger gives a performance for the ages and gives his life and career a lasting legacy.

Nolan has taken his already-solid directorial skills on BATMAN BEGINS and improved them ten-fold. Where the action was muddled and confusing before, it is now crisp and thrillingly clear. Cinematographer Wally Pfister switches the first film’s black and brown canvas for a bright and cold blue without losing any of the underlying darkness. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score has now captured this Gotham City as well as Danny Elfman captured Tim Burton’s Gothic nightmare. All of these elements combine in the film’s breathtaking final moments, where Batman’s mission becomes clear and everything he is about makes sense to him and the world.

****/****

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