The Dark Knight

[Highly rated reviewer]

Long awaited

Trailer looks awesome, and critics say film good, cant wait

Epic

How many sequels are there that are better than their predecessor? It’s debatable, talk to most people and the same film names will crop up again and again: Aliens, Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II. But now there’s a new film in that elite division - The Dark Knight.

Why it’s called The Dark Knight is a mystery to all, this film is owned by the late Heath Ledger who is nothing short of remarkable as the sinister, macabre Joker.

Only a year ago, most people (myself included) thought that Jack Nicholson’s Joker was definitive - how wrong we all were! Ledger’s twitching, giggling, disturbing Joker is far more entertaining to watch, infact he steals the film. Watching The Dark Knight I wanted Ledger to defeat Batman and take over Gotham, after all “this city deserves a better class of criminal”, in the end it was upsetting to see Bale’s dull Batman save the day.

Christian Bale is a fantastic actor (American Psycho, brilliant), I don’t understand why he feels he needs to put on such a silly voice while in the Batman suit. As Bruce Wayne: normal - as Batman: constipated chain-smoker.

But that’s how this film is, unconventional. The Dark Knight is a cut above all other super-hero films, such an intelligent film. Nolan even finds time to explore the subject of identity, the millionaire womanising playboy Bruce Wayne being just as much of a fraud as his violent Batman alter ego, if not more so.

Watching this film, the viewer finds himself asking: just who the hell is Batman? Which is a good thing because Bruce Wayne/Batman should be surrounded in mystery. After all, this is a vigilante of two halves, suffering from an extreme case of bipolar syndrome.

Overall, this is an excellent film stolen by Ledger’s Joker. The only part of the film that falls short is the whole mobile-phone echo-location fight-scene, that’s just silly.