When art becomes entertainment … and entertainment becomes the stuff of legends!
Okay, so we won’t debate any longer what the best Batman-movie is to date! It’s a ridiculous and totally pointless discussion anyway …
Even if you consider Michael Keaton a better Batman – he really is – and even if you like the style of Tim Burton so much more – why not? On a visual level he’s the greatest director Hollywood has even seen! – one cannot deny the plain and simple fact of just how exceptionally amazing The dark knight really is!
All things start with a great script. Christopher Nolan, backed up by his brother, wrote down an absolute masterpiece screenplay.
On top of everything else, the cinematography of Christopher Nolan is beyond professional. It’s smooth like silk. It’s a beautiful comfort zone that will allow you to dream away in massive action sequences, instant classic dialogues and a series of top-notch performances that lift the quality of the movie sky high!
Speaking of which, the king on the crown for this movie is undoubtedly Heath Ledger. It’s a pity the man died shortly after the movie was rapped up, because this young actor was a caterpillar who had only just become a butterfly. Truthfully, he’s done great acting in the past (his role in Monster’s Ball easily his best) but nothing quite like this.
Heath Ledger transcended the boundaries of acting, and instead of playing the character he became the character …
His acting is so natural, so unrealistically well done he sets himself nicely in the top 10 of greatest performances of all time!
His role is just as iconic as Anthony Hopkins‘ Hannibal Lector or Dustin Hoffman as the ever-sweet Rain Man. It’s that good …
The way he smacks his mouth when he doesn’t speak. The way he licks his lips with his tongue, like a lizard, almost so fast you wouldn’t notice it. The gimmicking of little emotions that run all over his face. The make-up. The body language.
Is Heath Ledger‘s Joker the single greatest villain in moviemaking history? Well … maybe.
But the rollercoaster doesn’t stop there!
Let’s take a minute to talk about Aaron Eckhart. Normally an actor who shifts between lousy movies and pretty good ones, he now finds himself in a true masterpiece, and guess what? He doesn’t disappoint.
The actor ascents to the highest level in acting, and if it wasn’t for Heath Ledger, he would’ve been the one getting all the praise!
We see both the light and the darkness that resides within this character. We see the duality of having to fight a war he cannot hope to win, yet he doesn’t yield!
We witness firsthand the undying love for his girlfriend, Rachel, another brilliant character brought to life by actress Maggie Gyllenhaal – who brings more to the table than Katie Holmes ever could in Batman Begins.
Of course, the one thing that keeps this movie from becoming absolutely perfect is the outlandish voice acting of Christian Bale. No matter how many times you hear him talk, his deep-growling voice is just too much. It sounds like he’s about to become a werewolf, or perhaps suffers from a severe cold.
As Bruce Wayne, Christian Bale is about as good as they come. He installs great humor in the dialogues, which fits the bill, especially with all of the surrounding darkness from the Joker.
The rest of the cast, though less prominent in the story, fulfill the gaps with sparkling allure.
There’s Michael Caine as butler Alfred who’s just a sweet old grampa now.
There’s Gary Oldman who continues his golden path as Commissioner Gordon.
And how could we ever forget Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, the man who sets up Batman with his arsenal of gadgets and neat-looking weapons.
Lastly, we need to talk about the music of the movie.
It’s once again a beautiful pairing of two of the greatest songwriters working in Hollywood: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard. It’s not the sort of theme you’ll come to love as one of your favorite ones, but nevertheless, don’t be surprised if the music gets stuck in your head, long after you’ve watched the movie!
Whichever way you slice it: The dark knight is one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s non-stop entertainment, modern art and beautiful chaos … all rolled into one!
Did you know?
Heath Ledger improvised when he started clapping inside his jail cell in a mocking and sardonic way as Gordon is promoted. The clapping was not scripted, but Christopher Nolan immediately encouraged the crew to continue filming and the sequence was included in the film.
Give it to me short:
The dark knight may not be the best movie ever made. It’s not even the greatest superhero-movie to date, though it’s definitely a close call!
But the one thing it IS and always will be: it’s an absolute gobsmackingly, insanely-entertaining masterpiece that should earn a place in every self-respecting film buff’s top 100 of greatest movies ever made!
It’s the kind of movie that, when all is said and done, you’re sad it’s over. It’s a rollercoaster of action scenes, brilliant dialogue writing and first-rate acting from all cast members around!
Needless to say, Heath Ledger is the pinnacle of the movie. He delivers a stunning and uncanny performance, so unbelievably well-played it will blow your mind! He doesn’t just act the part, he becomes the character. He’s so good, even Jack Nicholson admitted more than once – and deservedly so! – that his performance as The Joker was nothing in comparison.
The rest of the cast also shines gold.
Aaron Eckhart takes the second-highest spot! His outing as Harvey Dent is easily the very best thing he’s ever done in his entire career. The same goes for sweet Maggie Gyllenhaal who’s never been this good, though her part is fairly small. Christian Bale however is still suffering from a sore throat – his voice acting is questionable – but as wealthy philanthropist Bruce Wayne he really comes around beautifully.
All in all, this is one movie that’s been made for the ages …
THE 4TH WALL 