| 0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:  Amazing, 2 Aug 2008 There are many people that would gladly shut down this film saying it's surrounded by unjust hype simply because it's the last role of Heath Ledger. I have to say that a statement such as this couldn't be anymore false. Sure, the hype was bigger due to the untimely death of Ledger. But it was a movie and a role (Joker) that delivered on all levels. Batman Begins introduced us to the troubled man that is Bruce Wayne and told the story of how he becomes The Batman. Batman Begins, although very well put together and the story being told brilliantly; I found that at times it had moments when it would drag. The Dark Knight repairs those problems and gives us a movie of equal length, which manages to hold my attention throughout. My review will be split into three sections. The story, characters and verdict. This is to give you, the reader a fair and open opinion of the movie for which you can place your own opinion.
The Story: A year after the chaos caused by Ra's Al Ghul, the Batman has become a symbol in Gotham for all citizens. It's a symbol to show that nobody needs to be afraid when confronted with the criminal underworld of Gotham. This is a problem for Batman as it's created a lot of copy cat vigilantes. Unfortunately, the copy cat's attempts don't go as well as the Batman's attempts do. Batman has inspired even the law to fight against the mob underworld as the new District Attorney in town; Harvey Dent is determined to put the mob behind bars. The fight will be even harder than first thought as a man known only as the Joker, isn't interested in financial gain. He's just interested in creating chaos and he breeds a new class of criminal.
The Characters: I'm not going to talk about the Batman character, as simply it's not the most interesting character in this film. Surprisingly. I am, however, going to talk about the "supporting" cast in this movie.
The Joker (Heath Ledger): This is easily the most intimidating villain in movie history. Even more so than Hannibal Lecter, portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. The voice, the look and the body language are all done superbly by Ledger. They blend together brilliantly in order to create a very believable psychopath. The back story of the Joker isn't touched in this film, as in the comic universe it's never been confirmed 100% of how the Joker came about. The Joker, in order to achieve his goal of killing the Batman he must employ the help of the mob. He doesn't have the money but he has the skill of intimidation and the callousness to frighten, even the mob into working for him.
Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart): I have to admit, I've never been a fan of Eckhart as most of his movies preceding Dark Knight have been mediocre at best. He wins my vote in his role as Harvey Dent; the fearless District Attorney who, thanks to the work by Batman is willing to put his life on the line to put the mob behind bars. His transformation from respected DA into the broken "Two-Face" is inspiring and really seals him as a legitimate actor and a legitimate role.
Gordon (Gary Oldman): Oldman plays a much bigger role as Gordon in this movie. He's someone who becomes more involved in shaping the Batman character from hero to vigilante. It's a much more likable role this time around and has bigger impact when confronted with the Harvey Dent alter-ego "Two-Face"
The Verdict: I honestly love this film. Unlike the first instalment, this never stops. From the opening we're treated to a great bank robbery that gives us the genius and craziness of Joker. This has it's truly heart wrenching moments, but I'm not going to mention them as they give away the plot. I was a little disappointed by the very small and quite frankly, pointless cameo of Scarecrow. Although a beaten shell of a man I would have liked to see him have a darker and more prominent role once again in this picture. Apart from that it's a non-stop genius picture and something that lives up to the hype. The role of Ledger lives up to the bill and is something that could win Heath his first and only Oscar. This makes it more unfortunate that we no longer have Ledger with us to feel the glory created by his Joker. |
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