Films Action/Adventure The Dark Knight (2008) | The Dark Knight (2008) |
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| Written by Daniel Cann | |
| Thursday, 09 October 2008 | |
 The summer juggernaut has arrived crashing at cinemas and multiplexes near you! Does it live up to the hype? Thankfully it does. The director Christopher Nolan has set this in a recognisable world, gone are the cartoonish gothic touches of Tim Burton and the campness of Joel Schumacher. Chicago is stepping in as Gotham and this gives the proceedings a greater immediacy and realism. As a consequence the audience gets the feel of a real city being terrorised and under siege and not some elaborate set.
Gotham city has a new menace to contend with in the form of a scarily unbalanced and unpredictable urban terrorist known as The Joker played by the late Heath Ledger. His performance has been one of the main causes for the hype surrounding the already massive production. Well, he delivers us a disturbing, edgy, twitchy, rasping villain who genuinely makes for flesh crawling uncomfortable viewing. This incarnation of the Joker may wear the make up of a clown but there is nothing buffoonish or remotely jovial about this one! Ledger has put in a performance of such twisted menace that it will rank with the highest and most memorable screen villains of all time. Whenever he is on the screen he commands attention and his presence permeates throughout the whole of the film. Christian Bale on the other hand as Bruce Wayne/Batman has a hard task, but manages to convey a character that is unsure who he wants to be anymore. He is a hero who has very real scars and Bale infuses vulnerability and steeliness in equal measure into his portrayal. Although this is clearly the Jokers show as he runs riot through the films duration Bale keeps his character interesting where a lesser actor may have been emasculated. My only criticism is why oh why does each actor who dons the batsuit have to speak like a WWF wrestler with an eighty cigarette a day habit?
There are plenty of good supporting turns from Gary Oldman as Gordon, Michael Caine as loyal butler Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a good replacement for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes giving the character added depth and making her more rounded. Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey ‘Two Face’ Dent puts in a solid if unspectacular performance. Watching his characters geneses from a decent incorruptible man, the ‘White Knight’ of Gotham into a twisted, bitter and disfigured villain is interesting; his transformation is particularly gruesome and macabre. The plot concerns the emergence of the Joker just after the authorities seem to have got the upper hand of the criminal element in Gotham. The scary thing about the newcomer is that he terrorises with no apparent motive other than causing chaos. He is the worst kind of criminal the one society always dreads, one without fear or morals who kills and destroys for kicks. The scene is therefore set for the unstoppable force meeting the immoveable object. Although undoubtedly overlong and a little muddled at times this film has excellently staged action and mayhem on offer with plenty of gadgets to keep the comic fanboys happy. With a teenage male audience clearly targeted this is destined to be a huge hit that does exactly what it promises on the label. VIEW MOVIE TRAILER BELOW
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