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| Director: Christopher Nolan (2008) |
Over 4 years on, it’s easy step back and
observe the effect that The Dark Knight has had on the superhero genre, as well
as films on the whole. When one thinks of comic book adaptations, crappy
effects, shoddy dialogue and men in ridiculous rubber suits all unfortunately
spring to mind. But Christopher Nolan has changed such a trite genre for the
better. After sowing the seeds of change with 2005’s Batman Begins, he blossoms
this hard work into a truly fine effort, the genre transcending blockbuster that
is The Dark Knight.
18 months after Batman Begins, Gotham is
becoming cleaner, criminals fear the night and thanks to The Batman (Christian
Bale) the city is relatively safe. Through the combined efforts of The Dark
Knight, Lt Gordon (Gary Oldman) and district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron
Eckhart), mob bosses are slowly losing their grip on the underworld. Things
change dramatically with the arrival of The Joker (Heath Ledger), an insane and
formidable adversary, hell bent on bringing Gotham and Batman to their knees.
As the Jokers mania spreads, Bruce Wayne must push his alter ego to the very
limit in order to protect those closest to him, namely butler Alfred (the
always sublime Michael Caine) and attorney Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal,
replacing Katie Holmes).
If fear was the central theme of Batman
Begins, then The Dark Knight is fuelled by unpredictable Chaos, a tone that
Nolan sets from the get go. A 6 man bank heist is orchestrated, complete with a
multitude of double crosses and the reveal of our scene stealing antagonist.
From this stunning scene on, Nolan doesn’t let up. Explosions, chases, brawls
and city wide pandemonium act as the fuel to a mesmerising film which pushes
its genre, and filmmaking in general into bold new territory. This is in equal
parts due to the dark, gritty tone, shooting key scenes in the ultra sharp IMAX
format and The Joker himself, excellently portrayed by the late, great Heath
Ledger.
While Batman Begins was no slouch in the
acting department thanks to a strong assemble of talent, the performance that
will be remembered for years to come is Batman’s most infamous foe. Ledger
knocks it out of the park as the psychotic clown, his excellent dialogue
delivered in such a zany, mesmerising manner that we almost forget that the caped
crusader is indeed the star of the film. Ledger’s career has been a fine one,
but this is what he’ll be rightfully remembered for.
The dark knight marks the start of a new
phase of Nolan films, no longer restricted by budget; he is able to craft his film
to fit his vision. Going against the grain when it comes to superhero films,
the use of CGI here is kept to a minimal, with practical effects being used as
often as possible. So when a bus crashes through a wall, a truck gets flipped
on its head or a car gets destroyed, we’re seeing it actually happen. Such a
practical approach is even used in bigger situations, the Jokers demolition of
Gotham hospital is done for real, right down to the roof crumbling to the
floor.
Taking an almost Spielbergian approach to
set pieces, Nolan once again defies modern convention by showing us as much of
the action as possible. The camera doesn’t shake around violently but remains
smooth, framing the action so we as an audience can digest each punch and
explosion. The editing is sound in this respect too, scenes are relatively
long; nothing gets shredded into incomprehensible blur like other, lesser
offerings. For the most part this works wonderfully, but there are moments when
this directorial choice is a detriment to the overall quality of the film. Take
Batman himself, dishing out hefty blows to Gotham’s criminals and the Jokers
goons. It looks realistic, but the slow nature of Bales movement makes him
appear sluggish in his brawls. It’s not a monumental issue, but it paints the
caped crusader as a lumbering brute rather than the agile ninja that he truly
is.
There is little doubt that The Dark Knight
is a masterstroke in filming, a delicious concoction of old school philosophies
and convention obliterating plot twists. But like all of Nolan's films, even
those seemingly designed to be watched more than once (Inception), the film
doesn’t lend itself well to multiple viewings. If The Dark Knight is watched
once, and only once, it’s a 10/10 film in every regard. Viewing it a second
time is a lessened experience however, and the narrative creaks under its
gargantuan weight. Both Two Faces rampage and the ferry sequence seem rushed
and implausible. It’s still a terrific film, but the magic it generates when
viewing for the first time is an unrepeatable feeling. Regardless, this is
bound to go down as Nolan's masterpiece, the great second act in a genre
redefining trilogy.
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