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The Dark Knight - Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director - Christopher Nolan

There was always the chance that this release could be over-hyped due to Heath Ledger’s untimely death in January of this year. Could a movie based on a comic book really garner Oscar recognition? Could Ledger’s performance really over-shadow Jack Nicholson’s definitive joker? Did we really need another comic book movie?

Yes, yes and thrice yes.

I cannot understand comic book movies, and I thought this would be the only one I review - not through any strong dislike, but more due to a complete feeling of ‘QUOI????’ when I watch them.

With no comicbook knowledge beyond the very basics - Superman doesn’t like Kryptonite, Spiderman was bitten by a spider and swings about like Tarzan, etc etc, I’m always lost and subsequently, more often than not - bored.
So why go see the Dark Knight? Because shamefully, I wanted to see Heath Ledger’s last film. That was the sole reason. Then when I saw the trailer I got more interested - the cinematography and effects looked unbelievable.

The story is, for the casual movie fan, pretty simple. Bad guy = Joker, Good Guy = Batman. The Joker is terrorising Gotham city with random attacks and mass-murders. Batman is under pressure from the new Mayor who also happens to be dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the love of Batman’s life. The basic plot is simple - stop the Joker.

The beauty of this film is the depth that comes out of seemingly 2-D characters. The Joker is tormented, completely void of any compassion or regret, a madman. He makes his life up as he goes along, and yet calculates and executes his plans to perfection. He has no care for how people think of him, and thrives on scaring and repulsing people. Batman is in love, tortured by his responsibility, trying to do the right thing has landed him out of favour with Gotham and he is scared of being unmasked. Ultimately, however, he is willing to risk exposure to save Gotham from The Joker. I wouldn’t call the film subtle, it’s layered.

Christian Bale has been over-looked in the reviews and coverage of this film. His performance is solid, and as deep as Batman can get without doing the character an injustice. His love for Rachel is completely believable and his stunts are impressive.

However, the hype was spot on. Ledger was stunning. Since I was a child I have had a horrific phobia of both clowns and Chelsea smiles. So this character could not have been worse for me to stare at for 2 and half hours, enlarged to the size of a bus. Yet somehow the voice, the twitchy maniacal gestures, the complete lack of feeling, all scared me more than the make-up. The scene from the trailer with the tagline in it - Why So Serious? - was superb, as was a manic chase scene ending with a huge articulated lorry backflipping. As much of a cliche as it is, Heath stole every single last scene he was in. And that would be true if he were still alive now.

All support was solid, all effects were to the highest standard. The most beautiful shot was the lone figure of Batman, atop a building at night, one leg bent and cape softly rippling - the huge backdrop of the city at night with Batman’s slightly sad stature standing like a figurehead.

I will definitely be going to see the next Batman film (something I wasn’t expecting to say upon walking out of the cinema) because last performances and fabulous effects aside, the film was engaging, exciting, terrifying and sad. A combination I would never have thought I would get from a ’simple’ comic book movie.