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The Dark Knight


The Dark Knight



In my attempt to watch the trilogy back to back to back, there was never a doubt that this is the lead dog of the three. Not only the best of the trilogy but perhaps the best comic book movie ever made (Iron Man gives it a bit of a run for its money). The main thing that keeps me glued to being able to watch it over and over is the never ending action of this movie. The action scenes are some of the best creations that Nolan has ever directed, and the screen shots of Gotham are truly stunning. It's awesome to me that he could use a Chicago and yet make it into his own Gotham City. I feel an instant upgrade in this from Begins to TDK. I remember the insane anticipation with this movie when it came out in theaters and it has delivered ever since then.

Heath Ledgers performance as The Joker may in fact be my favorite supporting performance of all time. He doesn't play The Joker, he is The Joker, to the point that we all love to see this villain on the screen. He's a bit like Hannibal Lecter in the sense that he doesn't have a monstrous amount of screen time, but he packs a punch and makes every scene that he is in the best parts of the film.

I truly think Bale shined as well. I know a lot of people were disappointed with his raspy voice, but I was not one of them. Bale has a lot of range and he certainly pulls off being Batman With ease. I also preferred Gyllenhaal in the Rachel role in comparison with Katie Holmes. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, two of my favorite actors, show why they are two of the best supporting actors of cinema even though they weren't in the most shiny of roles.

The score is a bit of something that stays in your head throughout. Climax scenes are always accompanied by the greatest score bits in any of Nolan's films. And like I hit on before the cinematography is fantastic as a whole. But one thing that really is under shadowed is the humor. I like how the film also adds a bit of humor in here and there. I'm always a sucker for films that do this, and since Nolan isn't necessarily much of a jokester with his films it still shows me that he is capable. As I said before with Ledger, this is a film that catapults Nolan into being a potential actor's director, and getting the most out of his cast. Maybe not to the level of a Russell or Payne as we have talked about previously, but the potential is certainly there.

Overall, The Dark Knight isn't just a good comic movie, it's a great movie period! When I do my top 100 next year it will definitely be a certainty on the list, and a top 50 spot is close to a guarantee.

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