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'Dark Knight' a powerful step
up from first Batman movie
By Sara Anderson
July 24, 2008 | Gotham has a new white knight and
a new villain to haunt your dreams. The Dark Knight
is black with menace, dripping with distain from the
Joker's evil laugh. And the ending isn't exactly happy.
The Dark Night is the sequel to Batman
Begins and is a giant leap up from the last film.
Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, is a strikingly
handsome young man who tries to save Gotham City from
the thugs who control the city as well as part of the
Gotham City Police Department. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart),
the new district attorney, is the new hope to save Gotham
from falling into the wrong hands.
Dent becomes the pillar of light in the dark city when
he manages, along with police lieutenant James Gordon
(Gary Oldman), to put most of the criminals behind bars.
However, one criminal mastermind, the Joker (Heath Ledger),
was not as easy to catch. He reigned with terror in
Gotham City, killing several people and even sending
videos of his tortures to news stations.
Ledger's portrayal of the Joker is incredible. He
captured the character and acted with such sadism, while
making it believable. The laugh, tongue licking and
mannerisms were creepy. Just looking at him gave you
an eerie and discomforting feeling. Despite the fact
that Joker had no remorse for any of his victims, he
took pride in causing mayhem and chaos. Money meant
nothing to the Joker; evil is all he wanted. The Joker
is a one-man army, killing and crossing deals and pacts
made with mobsters.
The movie wastes no time jumping into the action in
the first scene. A second surprise villain is created
throughout the movie partially tying two previous Bateman
stories together. To keep Harvey Dent the White Knight,
Batman must become the city's villain.
With wide shots of the city, explosions and a motorcycle
that can flip off a wall, this film keeps the eyes busy.
The film does, however, feel long and at a few parts
you could call it quits, but the destruction keeps going.
Be prepared for the 152 minutes of action.
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman
all play exceptional roles in the film. Every character
helps to contribute to the masterpiece.
With as much death and destruction as the movie has,
it surprisingly has little to no blood or swearing.
This probably helps to keep such a dark movie a PG-13
rating.
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