Review of The Dark Knight (2008) by Bryce H — 26 May 2016

The Dark Knight.

5/5 Stars.

The Dark Knight wastes absolutely no time getting to the action, with the first scene as intense as the rest of the movie. The scene depicts men wearing clown masks zip lining between high-rise buildings as their partners storm into a bank. "Criminals in this town used to believe in things," a dying banker uttered as the joker shoved a hand grenade into his mouth.

The film is sinister and extremely intelligent and the acting done by Heath Ledger as the Joker is outstanding. He portrays an unbelievably evil and deadly character, whose sole mission in life is to wreak havoc in the city of Gotham. His crimes are so elaborate and well thought out, they could only be pulled off by an evil mastermind. Many of the lines said by the Joker in this film will go down in history as some of the wittiest and intelligently evil quotes we have seen on the big screen. This was one of Ledgers final roles before his untimely passing, and it will always be remembered as one of his greatest accomplishments. The horror Ledger depicts on screen does nothing but add to the sinister vibe of the film.

On the other hand, Christian Bale does a stand up job playing Gotham's hero, The Batman. His character represents hope and justice for the citizens of Gotham. Unlike other "superheroes", The Batman has no super powers. He's just a normal person who decided to take a stand against evil. Both the roles of good and evil are so brilliantly represented in this film in comparison to the countless other superhero movies that exist. That's what truly sets the Dark Knight apart from the rest and lands it on the top of my list when it comes to films in this category.

The plot line in the Dark Knight is elegantly crafted. It's extremely easy to follow, yet it remains action packed and exciting throughout its entirety. On top of that, the scenes are well thought out and brilliant, something you don't see often in movies of this category. At the core of this film is a battle between good and evil, but there's so much more to it than just that. The Batman represents justice and peace to the citizens of Gotham, yet just like the Joker, he is acting against the law. The Joker believes in nothing. He is different from all the other thieves and murders in Gotham. He thrives on conflict and evil and cares nothing about financial gain. He lives to create terror and to influence and question the morals of a "model citizen". In one scene, the joker rigs two boats with explosives. One boat contained innocent people, and the other contained convicted criminals. He gave each boat a remote detonator and gave both groups an opportunity to detonate the explosives in the other boat and save their own lives. This scene is an excellent representation of the Jokers character. Throughout the film, he does everything in his power to influence good citizens into doing evil.

This excellent film by Christopher Nolan will always be remembered as a classic. It's fast paced and action packed plot keep the viewer engaged throughout the entire duration of the movie. The acting is top notch and the scenes are extremely well thought out. With this film breaking the single day box office record at $67 million and grossing over $158 million its first weekend on the big screen, it's blatantly obvious The Dark Knight is one of the greatest movies of the 21st century.