Movie Review : The Dark Knight

Now, there are few words that come into my mind as the following review is a severe understatement of what this movie is. In fact calling it just a movie is an insult. It would be more fitting to call it an experience.

The movie starts where Nolans “Batman Begins” finishes. A year after the Scarecrow and Raj Al Ghul’s plot, Gotham looks a much safer place with gangsters deciding not to delve into a life of crime due to Batman. Things look well for the inhabitants but they are as annoyed as the criminals are of him. He has destroyed half the city to protect them and they now hail him as a vigilante.

Rachel Dawes is back but with the surprisingly good “Maggie Gyllenhaal” taking “Katie Holmes” place. She is the love interest to the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, Gothams “White Knight”. He is a man who is fearless and will stop at nothing to protect the people of Gotham. Due to this two way attack from both sides (Dent during the day, Batman during the night), the criminals turn to the Joker, a dilapidated sychophant, to be thier savoiur and to rid Batman from the city.

Without a doubt, Joker steals the show from Batman, with emotive remarks and makes the audience both embrace him and make them shudder. He is a man without a “plan” and only wants to see Gotham fall, as he puts it so well “Gotham deserves a better class of criminal”. His sporadic ways drive the film. Oscar buzz is a definate.

I found the film to be one of the best I had seen in years. The direction was superb, the music was spectacularly well done. Heath’s performance was great. Christian Bale did an excellent job as usual and with the new batsuit he didnt look like a guy in  batsuit with a broken neck. There was an even mix of both action and drama which make this a great film in my eyes.

There has been many reviewers who say that there isnt a plot. I beg to differ. The constant twists that made the audience gasp and laugh rule that out.

I am not usually one for build up but with all the publicity that surrounded the movie, I was trying to avoid it. It didnt work. So as i was engulfed in the hype I expected to see a dazzling movie with top notch performance. I was pleased. The movie met my expectations and exceeded them.

The Dark Knight is a must see for not just Batman fans or comic book fans, but for all movie fans. I can and will not stress enough how good this movie is. Its all up to you