After waiting for quite a while now, I finally got to see the much-anticipated installment of the Batman franchise. The Dark Knight marks the return of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Director Christopher Nolan. New to the Batman series is the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. Michael Caine is still Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon.
This new Batman movie is very different from the comic book Batman of the past. It delves deeper into the human emotions – exploring mostly the weaknesses of the human spirit and the indifference among all of us. From the opening scene, where bank robbers dressed as clowns annihilate each other just to make his share of the heist bigger, to the conclusion of the story; the movie told many tales about human beings in general.
The hype around Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker was well deserved. The role fit him perfectly, and his portrayal of the demented psychopathic clown was spot on. His voice, mannerisms, and general demeanor were exactly what the role called for. Sure, your heart will go out for him, knowing that he will not have another performance but still, you couldn’t discount his acting prowess in this movie.
Aaron Eckhart also was effective in his role as District Attorney Harvey Dent. His transformation into Two-Face was riveting. You almost feel sorry for the villains in the Batman movies. Every single one of them has a sad story to begin with. Maggie Gyllenhaal was no Katie Holmes as Rachelle Dawes – she was a lot better actress than Katie. True, Maggie looks a lot older but maybe her role as Rachelle fit her perfectly. She was the love interest of Harvey Dent who was no spring chicken either so the love team worked out well on screen.
Some caveats on the movie though. I found that some of the fight scenes were very distracting. I thought that they could have used more lighting during the action scenes or maybe zoom the lens out further so as not to be too tight for the scenes. Also, when his tank of a Bat-mobile transformed into a bad-ass bike, I found that the CGI effects could have used a little more work. It looked fake to me, especially when the bike passed by a dirt patch. Those fat tires could have kicked helluva lot more dust after his high-speed pass but not in the film. So sad too about the Lamborghini Reventon. I didn’t pity it because it got smashed (of course they didn’t use a real Reventon there), I would have wanted a lot more scenes of Bruce Wayne in that baby. When I first saw the Reventon on Top Gear, I instantly knew that it was made for Batman.
Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the movie. It’s a true white-knuckle ride through and through. It’s a lot more dramatic than previous Batman films and it caters to the more mature audience, not the ones that want a lot of crash, bam, booms. It’s the last film that Heath Ledger made and he certainly goes out in style. He’s the perfect Joker, more effective for me than Jack Nicholson in the first Batman. I like Jack Nicholson but Heath Ledger took the role to another level. You feel sorry for the guy but at the same time, you want to knock the paint out of his face as well. You will laugh at his antics but you wanted him to get beat up so bad, he won’t need that smile anymore. Thank you Heath Ledger, may you rest in peace. Why so serious?
The Ninth Avenue Photographer 
i still wish Katie Holmes had stayed on board as Rachel Dawes for the Dark Knight; it was like the time spent getting familiar with her character in Batman Begins was wasted…