‘The Dark Knight’ Review

The Dark Knight (12A)

Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Roberts
Director: Christopher Nolan
Running Time: 152 minutes

“And here we….GO!”

Now…which version do you go see? The normal cinema version or do you go for the full experience at the IMAX? You’re a fool if you don’t go see the greatest superhero film of all time at the IMAX!!

I’ve never been to the IMAX before to see a live action film and I was blown away by what I saw. The first scene of the film was a huge explosion of a city landscape on a 72ft screen. I had to grip my chair as I felt like I was falling through the sky. The whole of the IMAX gasped in excitement and it was the single most exhilarating cinema moment I have ever experienced…….and then the bank heist started!!

The majority of the film is mainly widescreen, but when it goes into IMAX shots, it really knocks you for six and is an experience you’ll have to see to believe. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing. How was this possible? I originally thought that certain parts of the film would be in 3D and that was what IMAX was. But this is so much better!! A screen as big as a house, which immerses you into the action. It was like Christmas had come early!

The Dark Knight is a stunning and very clever film. It feels more like a crime drama than a superhero film, but this makes the whole film feel more believable and makes the characters seem like they could actually exist in our world.

The second outing for Batman (Christian Bale) sees him trying to figure out what his role in Gotham really is and how people see the caped crusader. This isn’t helped by The Joker (Heath Ledger), who wants nothing more than to see the city of Gotham fall into chaos, and leaves Batman with some very difficult decisions to make.

Batman sees District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as his replacement, and every citizen sees him as the true hero of Gotham or the ‘White Knight’, and the one man to bring an end to the corruption that has plagued the city for so long.

The film has no doubt been hugely hyped up following the tragic loss of Heath Ledger. But make no mistake; this would have been just as huge had Ledger still been with us.

His final performance sees Ledger taking on the role of ‘The Joker’. A role that, at first, a lot of people (including me) thought he wouldn’t be able to pull it off and live up to the expectations of the character following Jack Nicholson’s portrayal back in 1989.

But on seeing countless trailers and TV spots, everyone was shown just how wrong we all were.
Nicholson and Ledgers jokers are very different characters in very different films, but my God is Ledger outstanding. Out of the two, I definitely prefer the amazing and very powerful performance by Heath Ledger.

Every time you see him on screen, you just feel this amazing energy flowing from him.
In certain scenes, he’ll have you crying with laughter, “Would you like to see a magic trick?”, and at other times he’ll send shivers down your spine with some very chilling moments.
The Joker is seen as a joke by the mob bosses, as he goes around in a purple suit wearing make up. But the joke’s on them.

Although The Joker is a crazed, homicidal psychopath, he’s also a genius who has thought out his plan down to the last detail and has his head screwed on, in a sick and twisted way, and loves to play people against each other. It really is a shame that Heath Ledger has passed on, as this is the greatest performance of his life, and many people have been tipping him for an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor.

Take nothing away from the other cast members, as they are all vital to the plot of the film, but Ledger really does steal the limelight.

Christian Bale is, in my opinion, the best Batman to date. You don’t see much of him as Bruce Wayne this time around, as The Dark Knight is all about how Batman fits into the world and the choices he must make to ensure that justice is served and that hope ripples through the citizens of Gotham. Bale brings just the right level of emotion to both sides of his character and you feel for both through the film from the difficult choices they both must make.

Aaron Eckhart is superb as Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent, and it isn’t till the back end of the film that we see him as Two-Face, but it’s worth the wait to see the scene between The Joker and Dent with the unveiling of Two-Face. I won’t go into how Dent gets his ‘face’ as I don’t want to ruin what is a major reason why Dent becomes Two-Face.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to get to an IMAX cinema, then I highly recommend it as a lot of the film is shot in IMAX format, and just wouldn’t be the same on the ‘smaller’ big screen. You’ll be blown away by some of the scenes and it really does make you feel like you’re in with the action. The bank heist, Batman gliding through a city landscape, Batman racing through the streets of Gotham on the Batpod are just a small selection of the scenes that are shot in IMAX resolution.

Christopher Nolan has done an amazing job with how he has re-imaged Batman. Batman Begins was brilliant, but The Dark Knight is so much better. You feel for every major character in the film because there are no weak performances.

This is a very deep and well thought out story, which will leave you wanting more.

“Let’s put a smile on that face!”

5 out of 5

Ender