The highly anticipated sequel to the 2005 sleeper hit BATMAN BEGINS, has finally arrived. Directed by Christopher Nolan, who also did the prequel, THE DARK KNIGHT stars Christian Bale, Aaron Echart and the late Heath Ledger to name a few. It follows the path of billionaire Bruce Wayne one year after the events of BATMAN BEGINS. Despite the Caped Crusaders efforts Gotham city’s worst has only become more ferocious. While dealing with mobsters an unpredictable clown, The Joker, seems to have a powerful effect on the citizens and the batman.I doubt there are many who are unfamiliar with concept of batman. The character has spanned over 70 years through media ranging from the comics, TV shows, cartoons, movies, and novels. Something common to the true batman story to at it’s center is a detective dissecting crime. This was also the heart of this story.
The plot was a true crime drama of epic proportions. Rather than comparing this to another superhero film, I found myself reminiscing of HEAT or THE DEPARTED.
The story is well thought-out despite it’s speedy pace. There are a few subplots that extend a bit longer than it should, but eventually they all tie in together. Fantastic turn of events kept me at the edge of my seat throughout.
The script is simply crisp and smooth. The dialogue is appropriate and seems to gel the characters to the gritty world they are enveloped in. Although some characters are more colourful than others, all of them have an equal share in adding a significance to the story. Screenwriter Jonathan Nolan has truly brought appropriate and mature conversations to the characters.
The acting overall is just amazing. Christian Bale is in top form, just as he was in the prequel, forceful as the Batman but stressed out as Bruce Wayne. Aaron Echart was excellent playing the charismatic and troubled Harvey Dent. Even Gary Olman give an empathetic view to the plight of James Gordan. Maggie Gylenhall is a pleasant replacement to the still childlike acting of Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. However I do feel all of these of these roles will be unfairly shadowed by the star of the film, the late Heath Ledger. His rendition of the Joker was simply astounding, and chilling. In the likes of Hannibal Lector, Tony Montana'Scareface' and Darth Vader, this Joker will go down in history as one of the most memorable and unforgettable villains. The relationship of The Joker and Batman is an intricate and complex one, I was impressed at how Nolan managed to keep it fresh and familiar. Throughout the film, the Heath’s performance made me wince in discomfort as he slices flesh and norms, but he also made me laugh at his over the top antics. I found myself cheering for him simply to see what he’ll do next. Leaving aside the much publicized death of a talented actor, he gave the performance of his life. I will be surprised if he does not get an oscar nomination.
The cinematography was simply eye-opening. In BATMAN BEGINS we are introduced to a dinghy, vicious ambiance of Gotham city after dark. Here we are shown Gotham’s gritty life with an atmosphere of danger during the day. The wide angle shots truly allowed grand scope of the city, and in many of the high angle scene there are elements of vertigo. The action sequences had me holding my breath in excitement. Not only were they effective in keeping you in awe visually but it was potent to match the story as well.
This is Christopher Nolan’s 6th movie and 5th commercial success. He has always been a director to bring a real life feel to all of his films by keeping things relatively simple. No grand illusions, no complicated storylines, no surprise ending, no special fx or CGI, and no gimmicks have been used in any of his films and THE DARK KNIGHT is no exception. The man knows how to tell a story, but also create a dark real life mood. I was truly spellbound from beginning to end. The quality of the film is on par with any drama of recent times.
It is no surprise the film just set a box office precedent of having the highest movie opening in history, a record formerly held by SPIDERMAN 3. Since of late the standard for comic films have been raised to a new level, mainly thanks to the new MARVEL STUDIOS. Warner Bros/DC has not only manged to reach this level,... but exceeds it. In spite of being a fan of Batman, without any bias I can truly say this is not only the greatest superhero film I have ever seen, but also one of the best films of the year. The adult and the child in me were both gleefully satisfied at this cinematic marvel.
RATING : 5 COCONUTS
D. PIERIES
2 comments:
the reviewer said it all.. it was without a doubt the greatest movie of its genre.. the only annoyance to me was the character of ms. dawes. in the first movie holmes'acting was childlike and in the second gyllenhal seems to potray it with forceful attitude.. both actresses simply didn't fit with the character. the character is understandable and is given suitable dialogue but the acting in both movies makes my hair stand on end(not in the good way as with the joker). to me the character should be played by someone who is both elegant and sophisticated. the way the both actresses potrayed the character makes me wonder why she would have such a hold on both bruce and harvey. both holmes and gyllenhal simply didn't gel well with the other actors.
There are comic book films and then there's THE DARK KNIGHT!!!!. Holy shit, this was so awesome. I downloaded it off the internet and watched it because i had seen batman cartoons in my childhood and wanted to see some cool costumes and some stylish cars but. Lo And behold I got the most exciting movie in a long time. One particular feature of note is the effects. Nolan prefers to practical effects to visual effects, which added to the degree of realism the movie already had with its sharp,intuitive screenplay.
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