No joke

The Dark Knight (2008)

I am going to end this mini season with the sequel to Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise. After the success of Batman Begins (2005) and the return of the same creative team things always looked good for The Dark Knight and the inclusion of the Joker as the main villain further increased the potential. When it comes to Batman the most iconic villain in his rogues gallery really is the Joker and he offers a wealth of opportunities for any writer or film maker to explore, which is not to say that the Joker guarantees a good Batman story as like anything I am sure the Joker can be badly used.

Heath Ledger got an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker and it really is an impressive performance as his character comes to dominate not just the plot but also the film. Using the Joker as a metaphor for anarchy and terror, specifically the war on terror, we get a really good film here not just the best Batman film to date. It is also nice to see a film that manages to look at the difference sides of the debate on how the war on terror is handled without smashing the viewer on the head with the creators own political bias. There are also some tough ethical dilemmas for the characters of the film to have to deal with.

The opening heist sequence is an excellent start and all the stunt/effects sequences are very well done with the emphasis being on real world stunts enhanced by CGI rather than relying heavily on CGI. What criticism I do have of the film is that it might be slightly too long and while it is a good film I do not think there is enough about it for it to be considered a great film. 4/5