Friday 29 August 2008

The Dark Knight - A late review

Ok, I know, it's been ages since this already classic movie dominated cinemas, so I'm very late putting my two pennies worth in after many much more talented writers have already done such a good job of explaining why it's not such a great movie after all.
The only thing is, I think this is a great movie! In fact I'd go so far as to say it's a modern masterpiece. Even if there was no BATMAN in it and it was just a gangster crime flick, it would still be a great movie, and I think that is why it works so well.
Sure there are things wrong with it. The gravely voice of Christian Bale's Batman is a bit too gravely, the violence is a little underplayed at times, and there are a lot of set pieces.
However, if you compare this movie to other superhero movies it's simply head and shoulders above any of them.
(Apart from perhaps the original Superman. I'll always have a soft spot for that one... Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman... gotta love 'em!)
I could start gushing about Heath Ledger's incredible performance as the Joker, but I'm guessing that's very old news by now, but there are other more subtle even - dare I say it - more impressive performances in the movie.
In Batman Begins, Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gorden wasn't really very effective, but here he excels. Subtle character details and powerful emotional moments have given Gotham City's top cop a depth and believability that the classic portrayal by Frank Miller in the critically acclaimed Batman: Year One graphic novel would envy.
In fact the one thing that makes this movie stand apart from other comic adaptations is that it not only does the source material justice, but in my humble opinion it surpasses it.
It takes the character of Batman in a brave new direction and delivers us the most terrifying while hilarious Joker ever seen on the big screen or on the sequential page.
There are lots of other things I like about the movie. I love how Two Face works so well, and is played so convincingly by Aaron Eckhart, Michael Cain is superb and so is The new Rachel -Maggie Gyllenhaal, but I think the thing I loved the most was the amazing cinematography by Wally Pfister.
Not only do he and Director Christopher Nolan make full use of the amazing IMAX format, for those who get the chance to see it at an IMAX cinema, but as a conventional movie the cinematography is top notch and made the whole experience of watching this triumph of a film even more exhilarating.
Yes the ending is cheesy, and some of the fight scenes are a little clunky, but every great movie has it's faults, and this is a great movie... no doubt about it.
9/10

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Good good good......

Gavin Burrows said...

I was a little more mixed, but def found it a big improvement on Batman Begins!

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