The Dark Knight Review: A Superhero Film That Aims Higher
9.5/10 — The Dark Knight (2008)
Pros
- Heath Ledger's landmark performance
- Thrilling, practically staged action
- Thoughtful themes of chaos and order
Cons
- Overstuffed final act
- Batman's voice
Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film pits Bruce Wayne, Lieutenant Gordon and new district attorney Harvey Dent against a chaotic criminal who wants to see Gotham burn. It treats the comic book as a platform for a big, serious crime story.
What works
Heath Ledger’s Joker is the main attraction: unpredictable, funny and truly unnerving, with a performance that overshadows even the film’s excellent set pieces. Nolan’s heist-style openings and the truck chase are superbly staged, and the moral dilemmas facing Batman give the action real weight. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s score ratchets up the tension.
Where it falters
At two and a half hours it feels overloaded in its final act, and Batman’s gravelly voice is distracting.
Verdict
The high-water mark of the superhero genre: smart, tense and relentlessly entertaining.
