consequences.in real life,these ramifications emanate from every action like ripples from a stone thrown into a pond.often in movies,especially those that feature characters who don’t play by the rules,such penalties are suspended.however,in chr**topher nolan’s batman universe,dec**ions and actions h**e consequences.the dark knight,arguably the moodiest and most adult superhero motion picture ever to reach the screen,illustrates th** lesson in ways that are startling and painful.th** ** a tough,uncomprom**ing motion picture-one that defies the common notions of what ** expected from a"superhero"film.while there are plenty of action sequences and instances of derring-do,the dark knight’s subtext has a tragic underpinning that would intrigue shakespeare or the greeks.it’s about power and impotence,sanity and madness,image and reality,self**hness and sacrifice,and-yes-consequences.
it has often been said that tim burton’s v**ion of batman was the darkest representation we were ever likely to see of a superhero.compared to how nolan sees the character,burton’s version was a pantomime.for many long-running franch**es,burton’s included,the second volume stands tallest.nolan has followed up on h** gritty and successful batman begins with one of the best all-time sequels,and perhaps the most impressive mainstream entertainment experience since 2003’s the return of the king.the dark knight builds upon the themes and prem**es founded three years ago.with the introductions and origins d**pensed with in batman begins,nolan uses th** opportunity to expand upon h** portrait of batman as a haunted individual who,driven by forces rooted deep in h** psyche,must d**pense justice according to h** own strict code.
following h** defeat of ra’s al ghul at the end of batman begins,batman(chr**tian bale)has become a mythical figure in gotham city.the caped crusader,as he ** now known,** the city’s great hope,although the debate rages as to whether he ** hero or menace.there are copycat"batmen,"as well-vigilantes who wear similar costumes but whose methods are crude.batman’s nocturnal activities are taking a he**y toll on gotham’s organized crime syndicates,and things take a turn for the worse when the new d.a.,harvey dent(aaron eckhart),decides to take them on rather than turn a blind eye or take a payment.abetted by incorruptible police lieutenant jim gordon(gary oldman),dent meets with batman and the two come to an understanding about how to proceed in th** war against crime.but a new threat ** r**ing in the form of a sad**tic lunatic called the joker(heath ledger),who offers to become the mob’s enforcer in the pursuit of a single goal:chaos.and th** brings him squarely into conflict with the city’s black-costumed guardian.to batman,he makes one demand:remove the mask and turn himself in or the streets will run red with blood.when bruce wayne’s identity remains secret,the joker makes good on h** word.
often in superhero movies,there’s a sense that,no matter what challenges the protagon**t must face,all will be right in the end.that certainty ** m**sing here,and its absence may represent nolan’s most impressive accompl**hment.batman ** fallible and h** world ** dangerous.no character,no matter how well-establ**hed in batman lore,** safe.th** director’s gotham city may be less gar**h and gothic than burton’s,but it ** in many ways a bleaker and oppressive place.it’s a joyless venue and the hero takes h** demeanor from h** city.batman ** a grim,brooding superhero.he rarely speaks while in costume and,when he does,h** voice quivers with menace and h** words are devoid of the quips and one-liners audiences h**e come to associate with action heroes.
the survivors of batman begins are all back.chr**tian bale has become the first batman where it matters which actor ** under the cowl.keaton,kilmer,and clooney were all interchangeable when wearing the bat-suit.not so with bale,who owns the role.h** presence in the costume ** forceful in a way that none of h** predecessors achieved.michael caine’s alfred acts not only as bruce wayne’s butler but as h** conscience.lucius fox(morgan freeman)** batman’s version of"q."indeed,there’s a scene in the dark knight that could h**e been lifted from one of many james bond films.gary oldman’s jim gordon,who wasn’t too sure about batman for much of the first film,** now fully on board as h** unofficial lia**on to the police force.ass**tant d.a.rachel dawes remains the girl who got away,the woman whose prom**e of a normal,happy life provides wayne with hope for the future.for the dark knight,maggie gyllenhaal has replaced katie holmes,but the change in actress **n’t a detriment.gyllenhaal ** a better actress and makes the character her own from her first scene.
of the newcomers,the joker ** the biggest addition.one could argue that it’s impossible to make a batman series without facing the main character against the joker at some point.no superhero and villain are inextricably linked.yet th** joker ** unlike any we h**e previously encountered.cesar romero’s interpretation of the character(in the’60s tv series)was that of a deadly prankster.jack nicholson’s over-the-top performance made 1989’s batman all about the bad guy.the late heath ledger,however,gives us something darker and tw**ted-a role that would h**e been no less memorable had it not been h** last and most grueling.there’s nothing humorous about th** freak.no flowery lines like"you ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?th** ** no caricature-the joker ** a frighteningly vicious and intelligent monster who represents a legitimate match for the title character.
the other major character to join the ensemble ** aaron eckhart as gotham’s chari**atic,photogenic d.a.harvey dent ** gotham’s knight in shining armor,and that’s how eckhart plays him-an individual with a pure heart who makes h** own luck.those even passingly familiar with batman lore know dent’s fate,and it plays out here as one might suspect,although nolan puts a different spin on things than did joel schumacher.
for all of the he**y lifting done by the movie’s screenplay,dealing as it does with substantive **sues and ex**tential questions,there’s still plenty of the meat-and-potatoes content of any superhero movie:action sequences.there are numerous fights,chases,and races.the batmobile gets its share of screen time as does a new bat-cycle.batman takes on bad guys singly and in bunches.and there’s a heart-pounding sequence in which the caped crusader must race against time to s**e a life,where the price ** almost as terrible if he succeeds as if he fails.nolan’s inherent sense of how to transform a relatively mundane fight scene into something involving ** in evidence here,much as was the case in batman begins.he **oids flash editing and allows the action to evolve in a coherent manner,drawing the viewer in rather than keeping him guessing what’s going on.
2008 may be the year that the superhero movie comes of age.iron man represents the best screen adventure of a marvel hero.now,d.c.has answered with the dark knight,a film so impressive in every significant facet that it makes one wonder why it took so long for the genre to reach th** high level.chr**topher nolan has provided movie-goers with the best superhero movie to-date,outclassing previous titles both mediocre and excellent,and giving th** franch**e its the empire strikes back.