Review of The Dark Knight (2008) by Ben B — 07 Jul 2016

The Dark Knight is the sequel to Batman Begins stars Christian Bale as the hero we all know. When a new player starts taking over Gotham's mobster groups and eliminating public figures, Bruce Wayne has to find a way to stop him.

By this point, everybody has seen this movie or at least knows of the hype behind Heath Ledger's iconic performance as The Joker. I won't fanboy over it more than this: nearly eight years (10 days away from turning 8 years old at the time of this review) and many viewings later, Ledger is still mesmerizing in this superhero flick.

Truthfully, the performances across the board are terrific. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes from the first installment as Rachel Dawes, Bruce's longtime friend and love interest. Gyllenhaal's performance might as well be legendary as well when compared to Holmes' lifeless take, so I was pleased. Once again, Michael Caine as Alfred, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Gary Oldman as James Gorden are all solid. I especially enjoy Caine's take on Alfred - witty yet subtle. The music score is fantastic, as is usually the case with Hans Zimmer, and the movie was well-shot and edited. I also really liked the VFX for Two-Face's half-burned face.

Now, The Dark Knight is not flawless. Christian Bale does solid work as Bruce Wayne, but the direction either he or Nolan decided to take with Batman was frustrating. Batman, while tactically brilliant, is terrible in hand-to-hand combat, which can be blamed on the stunt coordinator as well. Worst of all is the HORRIBLE BATMAN VOICE. It's been mocked for years for good reason.

There are also some weird plot points that I couldn't get passed. How did Joker set the egg timer to the EXACT moment when police officers would fire their guns at the funeral? How did Joker know that it was time to call in to the night show to threaten a particular life when he was nowhere near a TV or his henchmen? Why did Bruce use his Batman voice when in a room alone with Lucius, who knows his identity? Little things like that pop up throughout the movie that, when noticed, pull the audience away from the action.

Overall, I do love this movie. It's easy to get nit-picky with superhero films, but hey, I have high standards for my Batman flicks. While not as purely enjoyable as Batman Begins and a bit too long (2.5 hours), The Dark Knight is worth watching for Ledger's performance alone, and it's worth watching again for the sheer enjoyment of the lore.

Final Grade: B.