The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

Synopsis:
Batman must face a new menace to Gotham, the self-proclaimed agent of chaos calling himself the Joker.

Impressions:
I'm probably not going to say much that you haven't already heard about this movie. It's definitely the high point of the Dark Knight Trilogy, building on the solid foundation of Batman Begins and taking it further. I thought Aaron Eckhart was a good choice for Harvey Dent, but I think his transformation into Two-Face was given the short shrift and might have been better saved for the sequel. We can forgive Two-Face playing second fiddle because the main event is Heath Ledger's superlative performance as the Joker. I'd liked Heath Ledger well enough in the previous work I'd seen, but this was truly his masterpiece. It's a pity his career was cut tragically short not long after this movie came out, but what a high note to go out on. I'm not going to say it's the best Joker ever because I like a number of other interpretations of the character, but it's definitely the perfect Joker for this continuity. It's really worth paying attention to all the subtle details to his performance. It really is amazing work. You may or may not like the recasting of Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes with Maggie Gyllenhaal. I found her more plausible as an ADA than Holmes, for whatever that's worth. There are some nice one-scene wonders like William Fitchner as the bank manager and Tiny Lister as the convict on the ferry. About the only glaring flaw for me is how silly Bale's "Batman voice" sounds for more extended stretches of dialog. Setting that aside, this is an amazing film and I give it top marks. It absolutely belongs in your collection.

Rating:
Treasure It