The following is a review I wrote for a school assessment about two years ago.
The Dark Knight Review
From the opening title
with the Batman logo, to the closing credits, The Dark Knight is a masterpiece
of cinema. Christopher Nolan’s second film in his Batman trilogy is not only
better than the first; it is quite possibly one of the best films ever made.
The film opens to what appears to be
a simple bank robbery by a group of masked goons. Something does not seem right
however when they begin taking out each other after they have each completed
their assigned jobs. It soon becomes apparent that this is all part of the
infamous Jokers plan to reduce the amount of shares from this bank heist. What
the remaining members of the heist do not realise however, is that they are all
to be taken out, with only one remaining, this being the Joker himself.
This first scene just shows what type
of film this is going to be: dark, fast-paced and generally very enjoyable. The
Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger, steals the show as a darker, genuinely
scarier adaptation of the comic-book villain. With countless memorable lines, incredible
acting and an overall amazing on-screen presence, The Joker is one of the
greatest portrayed characters in the film.
Alongside Heath Ledger’s Joker are other
known characters such as Two-face (Aaron Eckhart), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael
Caine), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) and of
course The Batman (Christian Bale).
Christian Bale’s Batman is as well
acted and scripted as he was in ‘Batman Begins’, and we see his struggle to be
righteous in a city falling apart. The character of Batman adapts over the film
to keep up with the thickening plot of The Jokers attempts to break him and
this is all acted perfectly by Christian Bale. You can really believe his
emotional challenges throughout the film.
Another aspect of The Dark Knight
which really stands out is the musical score, composed by Hans Zimmer, also
famous for films such as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl’
and ‘Inception’. It truly adds to the atmosphere and tension of some scenes in
the film.
The Dark Knight has been occasionally
called controversial for being too dark and menacing at times to be rated a 12
by the film classification board. Although there are some points I would tend
to agree with this, anyone mature enough will greatly enjoy this movie.
Verdict:
The Dark Knight is thoroughly enjoyable
throughout and will have you glued to the screen. As mentioned, Heath Ledger
contributes enormously to the film and any scene with The Joker is a joy to
watch. It certainly exceeds the first in Nolan’s trilogy, and paves the way for
the epic conclusion; The Dark Knight Rises, which is being released late 2012.
Put simply; watch this film if you enjoy anything ranging from crime-drama to
comic-book films, and even if you don’t, watch it to experience the best film
of 2008. 10/10
