The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
Varun reviewedOctober 19, 2024
Rewatched this film because I found a fan edit that spliced all the imax 70mm scenes into one cohesive print. I used to think this movie was a perfect masterpiece when I was a kid but I saw a lot of flaws this time around. I didn’t like Bruce/Batman very much. I didn’t enjoy the smug billionaire persona he used as a mask, and I also didn’t think his real persona had much emotion to it. When Rachel dies, he doesn’t even look devastated. I mean she was the love of his life and the first tragedy to strike him after his parents’ death, you would assume he would be bawling or exhibiting immense rage. And as Batman, the raspy voice comes off as cringe now, which is why it’s been memed to death. He isn’t very menacing and doesn’t particularly seem very smart either. When it comes to the Joker, especially for the first half of the film, his plans feel quite unrealistic and drummed up by the plot. You don’t get to see why and how Joker amasses a huge following amongst the mob and Gotham’s criminals. I mean sure, they love the chaos he‘s stewing but I think majority of criminals do have strong goals, and the ones who love anarchy uncharacteristically stick to plans and show undying loyalty to the Joker as a leader. And I’m not convinced by Harvey Dent’s descent into darkness from just a single short conversation with the Joker at the hospital. Two Face’s whole shtick is having a split personality but Harvey just becomes a one note bad guy who leaves killings up to chance for some unexplained reason. I also feel there’s way too much monologuing and not enough normal conversations between all the characters. Despite all these issues (which I’m sure I’m only noticing on a rewatch 16 years later), I still really enjoyed the movie. Heath Ledger’s performance is just mind blowing, the Joker steals every scene he’s in and really comes off as a force to be reckoned with. They did a good job exploring various themes. The action scenes in IMAX are fucking glorious, with the bike chase scene being my favourite. Hans Zimmer is brilliant as always with that tense and energetic score. The pacing is tight and focused so you’re engaged till the very end. And for a superhero movie that released in 2008, it was a serious and fresh take that made many people respect the genre and it undeniably had a huge impact on comic book movies that still rings to this day.