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Meeting expectations is always a difficult thing to do. Somehow, The Dark Knight does that and a little more. With few flaws TDK grips and engages.
The Dark Knight and HypeThe internet is a funny thing. It provides information of all kinds, right or wrong, to you at nearly an instant. The internet has also sort of changed the ways films are talked about and waited for. When the tragic news came of Heath Ledger’s demise in January the internet lit up and The Dark Knight was propped up as being a life changing experience. This movie lover is here to say that such talk is too much hyperbole for any sort of entertainment. The Dark Knight is a movie, one of many throughout history that will provoke thought and entertain long after you leave the theater. The Dark Knight is nothing short of a grand achievement in filmmaking. Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan have crafted an incredibly tight script. Christopher Nolan has a firmer grip on the pacing and direction of the film. Wally Pfister does outstanding cinematography as Gotham feels like a living and breathing city. The performances by all actors involved, especially the late Heath Ledger, are absolutely enthralling and believable. The Dark Knight and the White KnightAaron Eckhart stars as Harvey Dent, the newly elected District Attorney of Gotham. It is his character that drives the narrative arc of the film and what an arc it is. In Dent, Gotham is given light in the darkness and the promise of a better tomorrow. Dent finds in Batman another symbol of hope marred in mistrust and fear by a public who both loves and rejects the idea of a masked vigilante protecting them at all costs. Eckhart turns in a stunning performance as a by the books DA who seems incorruptible. Anyone who is familiar with Batman as a character knows what will happen to the White Knight of Gotham. For those that are ignorant of his fate, rest assured the movie creates believable and compelling reasons for Dent’s to do what he does. The nagging point of the film is that Eckhart’s Dent get sort of the short end of the stick by not getting enough screen time to fully appreciate his change. However, it is a very minor thing and upon further viewings of the movie may have been the right choice. Heath Ledger Steals the ShowNot much can be said about the performance Heath Ledger gave in The Dark Knight that has not been said. Heath simply took the excellent script and development of The Joker and utterly made the role his. You simply see and hear nothing but the Joker. The Joker is a complete and utter force of anarchy. The Joker revels in seeing people destroy themselves. However, the Joker is equally content and comfortable to destroying people himself if need be. This madman has no goal other than the complete destruction order or what society considers the rules to live by. There is not room enough to truly give credit to Ledger’s performance. You must see it to believe it. Batman Reborn for the BestWhile Heath’s performance was sublime, let us not discount the work of the other fine actors and actresses involved. Gary Oldman is stunning as James Gordon. Gordon is finally given a gravitas and personality none of the now nearly unmentionable Batman films dared to give him. Christian Bale is Bruce Wayne and Batman and continues to make you belive nothing else. Michael Caine is engaging as Alfred and the humanity espoused by Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox is wonderful. Maggie Gyllenhaal effortlessly replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. No words can capture how grateful this author is that Christopher Nolan and company saved Batman from camp and ridiculousness. See this film as it is an instant and haunting classic. This author hopes that Nolan and everyone can make a third film that will provide adequate closure to this new vision of Gotham’s fabled protector.
The copyright of the article The Dark Knight Movie Review in Film Dramas is owned by Brian Nathanson. Permission to republish The Dark Knight Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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