Genre:

Action, Crime, Drama

By Ryan Casey

The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan, threatened to be yet again another disappointing vision of the infamous Batman character. However, while 'Batman Begins' was a nice progression but still slightly disappointing, The Dark Knight is a much more mature film, profiling a dark gritty underworld with a much more sinister and less fantasy driven production. Finally a movie to do justice to Batman and almost wiping the stains of the horrible TIm Burton features and endless disgusting sequels (Although nothing beats Arnie's cringe worthy Mr Freeze puns).

PLOT SYNOPSIS
The story sees Batman, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) working together to clear up the streets of Gotham City. A more developed crime genre flows through the vains of this movie as it starts with a tense bank robbery introducting the fantastic Heath Ledger as the Joker. The scum and villiany of Gotham City turn to this unstable mad man out of fear from the Batman.

The Joker’s un-relenting campaign of terror and destruction, seriously threatens the stability of Gotham City. This challenges Batman’s own moral code, as their struggle becomes intensely personal. Eventually leading to the downfall of some of the movies moral figureheads.

Heath Ledger is fantastic as the Joker. His perfomance overshadows every other Batman villian (even Arnie) and serves as one of the best cinematic bad guys of all time. The fresh approach he lends to the Joker is mesmerising, everything from his disturbing mannerisms to his clever and punchy lines that often have the audience on the edge of their seats.

Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent is thoroughly underated as he serves as the linchpin throughout the movie. With the sparatic appearances of Batman and the spetacular pantomime villany of the Joker, Eckhart is the real driving force throughout the movie guiding the narrative with his strong and consistant performance.

The only problem thatI had with The Dark Knight was Christian Bale’s infuriating deep 'Big Boy' which puts on under the disguise as Batman. It makes him sound like he’s been smoking fifty cigarettes a day since he was six! I know he does this to protect his identity and all that jazz, but it gets really irritating almost instantly.

The Dark Knight really impresses with regards to scale and grandeur. The fight scenes and stunt set pieces are nothing short of epic, the quality to which leaves you hungering for more. The Dark Knight continues to profile the successful re-invention of a brand that was in desperate need of a makeover. Yet would it be the same film without the Joker? Probably not. 4.5 Stars out of 5