Ducca's Official 'Dark Knight' review

My, what a treat this movie is. I don’t just see it as the best superhero movie, it is , art-wise, the best film ever. Yes, it is THAT good.


The ‘Dark Knight’ follows our hero a year since the last of the events in the hit 2005 movie ‘Batman Begins’. Thanks to Batman(Christian Bale), along with the works of Lieutenant Jim Gordon(Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent(Aaron Eckhart), Gotham’s streets are getting safer by the second. However, a terror that goes by the name ‘Joker’(Heath Ledger) arises and creates massive chaos, suddenly throwing Gotham into the darkness again with his clever schemes and psychopathic ways. Thus, the showdown between Batman and his strongest enemy yet is about to begin.


The man behind the success of 2005’s ‘Batman Begins’, director Christopher Nolan, returns for this sequel (which is also a remake of the original 1989 movie), along with the majority of the cast; Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox & Michael Caine as loyal butler Alfred. Maggie Gyllenhall replaces Katie Holmes as Batman/Bruce Wayne’s love interest, DA Rachel Dawes.


Many were anticipating this movie, and expectations were high, as ‘Batman Begins’ was so good it revived the Batman series into a ‘must-see’. However, sadly, ‘Dark Knight’ is also the last completed film by the very talented Heath Ledger, who passed away earlier this year due to accidental drug overdose. Just his portrayal of the psychopathic Joker is enough reason to watch this movie, as, judging from early trailers and previews, his Joker is very different from previous interpretations (Jack Nicholson’s Joker in the original 1989 Batman movie, and the rather forgettable Jim Carrey’s turn as The Joker as well). Plus, with THAT scary a clown makeup, and the vast talent of Heath’s, it should be interesting to see the Joker against Batman right?




The answer is yes, The Joker did shine.





To be fair, all the cast in this movie are strong. All played their part well, but somehow, it is Heath’s Joker that manages to steal the show in every scene he is in. Be it the Joker’s maniacal laughter, or angry reactions to people calling him ‘freak’, or The Joker being the funny clown that he is(to go with his makeup, perhaps? But really there is a real reason for that hideous makeup…), he is amazing. Heath played The Joker so good, you are practically captured into the Joker’s antics, his facial expressions, whatnot. Evil? Yes he is. But funny? That too. The clown, Joker. Heath completely gave the character to The Joker. To me, Heath’s Joker is the best Joker. He completely captures the character’s sad past which made him into what he is today, and he completely captures the twisted mind and mentality of the Joker. It is, truly, a one-of-a-kind Joker. The ‘true’ Joker, in my opinion.


Apart from Heath, ‘Dark Knight’ also introduces two new actors, namely Aaron Eckhart & Maggie Gyllenhall. I am so glad they replaced Katie Holmes for the role of Rachel Dawes, though I read it was due to ‘scheduling conflicts’ that forced Katie Holmes to pull out of this movie. Maggie’s interpretation of DA Rachel Dawes is impressive, and better than Katie’s, which I felt was the only weakness in ‘Batman Begins’. Aaron Eckhart played his role well too, and you really felt for his character, as he tries to fight crime and corruption in his own way, and his ideas of heroism. Perfect role indeed.


One part I find slightly disturbing is actually the character Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman. The reason I find myself disturbed slightly is because I watched the movie ‘Wanted’ before ‘Dark Knight’, and there’s a strange weirdness when I saw Lucius Fox on screen: he just looks so much like 'Sloan' from ‘Wanted’, it’s weird. But fortunately I got my grip on time, reminding myself that this is Lucius Fox, not…and the rest is history.


Of course, if u are going to battle a crazed psychopath hell-bent on making amusement out of other people’s misery, u will need better weapons, better suit and a better vehicle right? U need better technology right? And since Bruce Wayne is practically ‘poor-deficit’ he can easily fork out some of the coolest vehicles and slickest gadgets around to help him catch his guy. In ‘Dark Knight’ we see Batman with his new vehicle, a motorbike (sorta) that goes by the name Batpod. And the way the Batpod is unveiled is oh-so-cool. Bruce Wayne certainly has great toys!!



Great cast and cool vehicles aside, what makes this film even better is its storyline and plot. Yes, for most part of the movie its Batman vs. Joker, but the way the battle is laid out over 2½ hour(some said it’s a bit long, but I felt it was just right) is well-did. All throughout the movie, the movie teaches (or at least it showed, and I learned) what it means to be a true hero. And it also challenges human’s basic morality at one point in the movie. Everything unravels like a crime drama, yet this film does not really present itself as a crime drama.



One word to summarise ‘Dark Knight’: intelligent. This is one intelligent film, just the things you can learn from the movie is enough to make u a wiser person (that is, if u really paid attention to the movie and understood its dialogue and others). From trying to get information from a criminal to betting your life on a game on chance, I personally learned a lot from this film, not to mention its wonderful directing and flawless acting.




I have said it and I will say it again: ‘Dark Knight’ is the best movie ever. The rollercoaster of emotions I had throughout the film is a testimony to that. Never had a movie so successfully captured the audience in the state of mind it wants them to be, whether scaring you with the hard-to-guess antics of The Joker, to a torrid love between the lead characters, to the excitement of who will win in the battle, this film has it all. Nicely balanced over 2½ hours. Heath Ledger really deserves an Oscar just for his performance, and I’m betting good that this film will rank into IMBD’s Top 250 Movies of All-Time, just like its predecessor.


It’s too bad we don’t get to see more of Heath’s acting anymore. The Joker came just as colourful as he left. The Joker-the best villain ever. The ‘Dark Knight’- the best movie ever. 10 stars out of 10. Hands down.



(Ducca watched ‘Dark Knight on 19th July, two days after it hit the screens worldwide)



[This is the ‘formal’ review of Dark Knight from Ducca. For the less formal and ‘unofficial’ review, pls visit Ducca’s Xanga page at www.xanga.com/ducca89, where there are more trivia. The unofficial review is only available on Xanga.]



*written 21.07.08*