Review: The Dark Knight

My tickets worked. :)

The Dark Knight. It was a mission in itself to try and get an objective view of this film after all the hype, marketing, and Ledger's death in January. However, I felt eventually the anticipation served me well, and even if it is a little subjective, who cares? I'm 17 and have been looking forward to this film for 10 months.

The first thing to say about it is it's long. Really, very long. In fact, when we reached what I thought to be the climax in the film, we turned out to be just halfway through the film! The second thing is to say about it is... it's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Almost every performance is captivating and memorable, the set pieces are beautiful, and the storyline is engaging on an emotional, physical and humourous level. Of course, Ledger's performance shines brightest, but Gary Oldman provides a terrific performance as Jim Gordon as well, a tragically overlooked character amidst the real comic-book stylized heroes and villains.

Another surprisingly impressive thing about this film is the size of Two-Face's role in the film. Yes, Dent features prominently, but his post-fuck-up alter ego features is the film for a good 40 minutes. And yes, you see everything. Every detail of his horrific, disfigured face. Aaron Eckhaart was brilliantly cast here, he's a true hero, for the first half anyway. Then as the sneer of Two-Face settles in he's just as at home, flipping his coin to determine who lives and who dies. It's a tragic story, this film, all the interlinking plot lines and characters, none of them side stories or support actors. This 154-minute epic runs it's entire length cramming it full of relevance, hardly any of it dispensable.

Your jaw will drop. You'll gasp, you'll even laugh, this is the legacy of Ledger, he takes so much from the audience, more than anyone else in the film. From his semi-legendary pencil-pushing magic trick to his transvestite disguise in the second act. You'll find yourself loving the Joker even though he offers nothing for you to love, you'll cheer him on as he blows up a hospital, as he carves scars into the sides of a mobster's face. You'll love every moment of Ledger's screentime and he deserves it. It's an epic performance that will go down relentlessly in history, fuck you, Jack Nicholson.

To summarise, see this film to believe it. Not only for Ledger, not only for Batman, not only to knock Mamma Mia! off the number 1 spot in the UK Box Office but because it's incredible. The Dark Knight is here, and won't go way until it's sure it's secured itself a plac ein the history books, Batman's voice will irritate, but so what?

Rating: *****
Sequel: Probably, David Tennant for Riddler!
Best Moment:The last five minutes, probably the darkest of the film, with a Superb monologue from Oldman

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