The Dark Knight – The New Milleniums First Masterpiece?

I tend to approach movies that have been heavily hyped with a degree of pessimism, reserved in the hope that by lowering my expectations I’m not going to walk away from a good movie feeling underwhelmed. Not so with Christopher Nolan’s latest offering. I can count on one hand the movies that I’ve been genuinely filled with excitement in anticipation of their release, and The Dark Knight was one of them. Admittedly, i had only watched the previous episode of Nolan’s re-imagining on DVD, but was suitably impressed with a return to a darker Batman, much truer to the comics than the flash-bang farces produced by Joel Schumacher, he of Batman and Robin, better known as the Batman movie with “Bat-nipples”.

When the first movie ended with the hint that the main antagonist in the next movie would be the Joker, I was ALREADY excited. However, when I heard Heath “Brokeback Mountain” Ledger was being cast as the Joker I was less than impressed. How could you cast someone whose best known role was a gay cowboy to be one of comic book mythology’s greatest villains? Then came the first blurred pictures of the new Joker. I was completely aghast as this new sloppy appearance. My previous experiences of the character were what little I knew of the brilliantly portrayed version by Jack Nicholson and perhaps my own “definate” version of the character, the Joker from the Batman animated cartoon, given a voice by the not-so-down-and-out-as-I-thought Mark “Luke Skywalker” Hamill. These Jokers, in keeping with the original comics, were excellently dressed, well groomed psychopaths. I couldn’t see how this…slob…could possibly compete.

How wrong I was.

First, let me add that as tragic as Heath Ledgers untimely passing is, he should NOT be awarded an Oscar in rememberance. He should, however, be rewarded an Oscar for one of the greatest acting performances of the modern era. There are honestly just too many great moments in the movie to even begin to list them…everything from genuinely creepy delivery of lines, to subtle brushing away of his hair from his face…even his movement suggests that the character he plays is the very epitomy of chaos and anarchy. The greatest crime the Joker ever commited…stealing every scene in this movie. Let this not be understated…Heath Ledgers portrayal of the Joker hasn’t just raised the benchmark for playing villains…he’s raised it for acting. Period.

Thats not to dismiss the other headliners in an all-star cast. Aaron Eckhart is a magnificent Harvery Dent, playing the split personality in the final Act of the movie to perfection. Maggie Gyllenhalle takes over the role of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes and makes it her own. Finally, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, two of films finest patriarchs provide the perfect supports for Christian Bales increasingly desperate Batman. I’ve even learned to tolerate that voice. It adds something, but it does make it hard to make out the dialogue sometimes.

So in conclusion, where will history place The Dark Knight? Personally, I think we might have just witnessed not only the greatest comic hero movie of all time, but one of cinemas all time greats. A movie that truly can carry its own alongside other Hall of Famers. The Godfather. The Shawshank Redemption. Pulp Fiction. The Dark Knight.

Stay classy,
Ian