The Dark Knight
Synopsis:
With the help of allies Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) has been able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City. But when a vile young criminal calling himself the Joker (Heath Ledger) suddenly throws the town into chaos, the caped Crusader begins to tread a fine line between heroism and vigilantism.
Movie Review:
"The Dark Knight" is directed by Christopher Nolan and is the sequel to "Batman Begins" after they rebooted the franchise in 2005. I saw it in theaters in 2008 for the first time and I loved everything about this movie. What makes this film so good is that it doesn't feel like a superhero movie, it feels like a crime mob movie with Batman in it. This is a monumental achievement in the superhero genre that forced film makers to make superhero movies with a good compelling story, characters and a chilling villain. Most of the cast returned to the sequel. Christian Bale who plays Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman is once again superb as both of these characters as he deals with his damaged past and his new love interest. Maggie Gyllenhaal is really good as Rachel and such an improvement over the less than talented Katie Holmes from the last Batman movie. Michael Caine once again plays Bruce's father figure, Alfred and is the heart of the whole entire movie. His touching and emotional talks with Bruce Wayne are inspiring and powerful scenes throughout the film. Gary Oldman returns as Commissioner Gordon and he is outstanding as this character and it is very disappointing that he is so underrated in this movie. Newcomer to this franchise is Aron Eckhart as Harvey Dent and is another underrated actor in this movie because his performance is outstanding. Morgan Freeman returns as Lucius Fox who helps Bruce and he is typical Morgan Freeman; always delivers a great performance. The actor who steals the show is Heath Ledger who plays the famous villain and arch nemesis to Batman, the Joker. He is terrifying and scary and will give you chills every time he is on screen. The Joker might be one of the best villains I've seen in any superhero film, and in my opinion Heath Ledger deserved the Academy Award that he received. He hit it out of the park with this performance…I absolutely loved it. The action scenes in this movie are outstanding including the Batmobile chase scene with the Joker and the final face-off between Batman and the Joker. They are so intense and exciting to watch. "The Dark Knight" is not just a great superhero movie it is a great movie period. It is a well written story with great character development and a villain that will be remembered for decades to come. It is a tense drama with terrifying realizations. "The Dark Knight" is one of my favorite movies of all time. I am giving "The Dark Knight" a 5 out of 5 stars.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman
Runtime: 153 minutes