Overall rating

5 / 5

Into the Heart of Evil

PostedJuly 18, 2008

from Chicagoland

The Dark Knight takes us in an unforeseen direction: right into the heart of evil. The best writing is devoted to the development of the villains in a way that has not previously been seen. This is done without falling into the traps of cliché or pastiche and gives the villains a depth and dignity not accorded to them in previous Batman films. The standout performance here (and this will come as no surprise) is that of late Australian actor Heath Ledger. The babbling yet shrewd criminal insanity of The Joker is easily the best in all of the Batman franchises and it can be reasonably predicted that he will receive a posthumous Oscar for this performance. Fine performances are also given by most of the ensemble, most notably Aaron Eckhart. The weakest link in the ensemble is Maggie Gyllenhall, whose performance is to some extent undercut by the writers' lack of interest in her character in this film. Curiously, Christian Bale is also given short schrift in the script, though he continues to infuse the role with the somber complexity that endeared him to audiences in his prior performance. To give credit where credit is due, the producers of this film did not insist on overbearing special effects and action sequences (although two and a half hours of even understated action, it may be argued, is just plain too much action). The film, like its soundtrack, moves along at an unrelenting pace with plenty of psychological drive. The Dark Knight is unquestionably darker, features an outstanding cast, fascinating character development and the kind of tense action and quietly oppressive aesthetic that we've been led to expect from its predecessor. For those who are new to this trilogy, I would recommend watching Batman Begins first. Without having seen the development of our protagonists in that film, The Dark Knight will not satisfy nearly as much. For those who were keen on Batman Begins, however, this movie is nearly everything we've been hoping for.

Yes, I recommend this movie.

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