The Dark Knight (Theatrical - 2008)
Warner Bros. / 2008
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
Review by Jude Felton

In the year or so that passes between the ending of Batman Begins and the start of this movie we learn that the folk of Gotham City aren't 100% convinced that they approve of Batman (Christian Bale), and his vigilante ways. The big question as to whether he is a hero or a menace is still very much at the forefront of everyone's thoughts.

This isn't helped when banks owned by the Mob become targeted by a new upstart who calls himself The Joker (Heath Ledger). This character has no morals when it comes to who he will hurt, or how he will hurt them. So, when Lt. James Gordon, golden boy District Attorney Harvey Dent and Batman team up in an attempt to thwart this new villain things take a decidedly dark twist.

The Dark Knight is a movie that plays a lot on the main characters relationships between each other, blurring the lines of what is right and wrong or good and bad. How far will they go in order to bring justice to the city, and at what cost to their own personal lives. This really is a deceptively complex movie, that is only brought a little respite with the straightforward humor of Alfred (Michael Caine) which is thrown into stark contrast to the humor of The Joker, which truly is quite nasty, albeit very funny.

Director Christopher Nolan has truly expanded on the world he brought to the screen in Batman Begins, and shows that he is a director with a great vision and a real understanding of the Batman story.
 
 

All hype aside, which really cannot be avoided with a movie of this magnitude, some people wil see this because it is a Batman flick, some to see the legacy of Heath Ledger, but hopefully everyone will see The Dark Night because it is a bloody good movie, that really does surpass all expectations. It is a little drawn out towards the end, but that really is a minor quibble to what has gone before in this epic picture. Great performances from all the cast, tied together with a well thought out script, superb action scenes and the brutally dark underbelly of Gotham City, all combine to make this a must-see movie.
 
 

"Dark and dangerous, and a damned good time"
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