THE DARK KNIGHT REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

If you're looking for an mature, action-packed superhero movie look no further than The Dark Knight. This is, by far, one of the best superhero films ever made. 

Some of the superhero films, that I've seen, are pretty average. They have a predictable plot: there's a superhero and a villain. The villain has an evil plan and the superhero has to stop the villain. The superhero stops the villain and saves the day. There was no suspense and hardly any gripping action.

This isn't the case with The Dark Knight. 

Throughout the 1990s, there were two film adaptations of the iconic superhero but they were all camp and cheesy. Back then, the only good adaptation of Batman was the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight and he was really good. 

However, when it was announced that Christopher Nolan was going to be directing a new Batman film back in 2005, no one expected it to be the mature, action-packed thriller that it was. Christian Bale surprised audiences with his performance of Batman and showed everyone that he was perfect for the role. No one had seen a Batman film made like this before so when the sequel, The Dark Knight, was released in 2008, people had high expectations. Did it meet those expectations? Yes. In fact, it was better than what people expected it to be.

Now, comes the much-anticipated sequel with Christian Bale returning as the title character, the Dark Knight.

The opening to this film is brilliant and is probably the best opening sequence I've ever seen. We are introduced to the film's main villain, the Joker (Heath Ledger). We first see him start a bank heist with several clown-masked people and killing them off one by one so that the Joker would be left with all of the money. I think the reason why this was the best opening sequence was because of the way we were introduced to the Joker. We've seen him rob a bank but, before he leaves, we see a close up of him taking off the mask and we finally see his terrifying make-up. He also says one of my favourite lines of the movie: "I believe whatever doesn't kill you simply makes you stranger". Within five minutes, we finally learn what a pyschopath the Joker really is. In the first Batman film in 1989, he was played by Jack Nicholson and he made a good Joker but he wasn't terrifying like Ledger's portrayal in this. Ledger truly deserved his posthumous Oscar for 'Best Supporting Actor'. The Joker is one of the best villains because he's so unpredictable. You never know what's he going to do next.

Returning to help Batman defeat the Joker is: Bruce Wayne's loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine); Sergeant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), who has recently been promoted to Lieutenant; Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), who provides Batman with all the gadgets and new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

In the first film, Bruce's love interest was Rachel Dawes, who didn't start a relationship with him because of Batman. Now, she's in a relationship with Harvey Dent. Also, in the first film, she was portrayed by Katie Holmes but, due to scheduling conflicts, she's replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal who, I think, is a better choice. She brings more emotion to the role and we care for her more.

Despite having a good support team around him, Batman is finding it difficult to stop the Joker because he wants Batman to reveal his true identity or he will begin killing people. This is Batman's biggest dilemma, he doesn't want to reveal his true identity because it will ruin Wayne's reputation as a wealthy businessman but he doesn't want anyone to die. Does he turn himself in or will he find a way to stop the Joker?

The film also contains one of my favourite quotes in the film, said by Dent whilst he's at a dinner with Bruce and Rachel: "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain". The reason why this is one of my favourite quotes is because it foreshadows Dent's future. He is seen as Gotham's White Knight (compared to Batman's Dark Knight) so he could've died a hero but, unfortunately, the latter of the quote becomes true, thanks to the Joker's manipulation.

What I also love about this film, is that it's not heavy on CGI unlike The Avengers. All the action sequences was done with clever planning and great cinematography which makes them look realistic.

When The Dark Knight was first released in 2008, it broke box office records, making over $533m. That was the highest a superhero film had ever made at the time and I'm not surprised.

This isn't only the best superhero films I've ever seen, it's also one of the best action films I've ever seen, if not the best.

9/10

Read my review of Batman Begins here

Read my review of The Dark Knight Rises here