The Dark Knight

Hello Jackson here, I have been extremely busy and finally have gotten around to posting my review of the Dark Knight.
5 out of 5

An enthralling, haunting, morally complex crime drama, the Dark Knight puts the bar on summer movies so high that it is doubtful any film in the foreseeable future will measure up. At the start of the film all is well in Gotham city, Batman is cleaning up the streets, crime is on the downswing and Gotham has a new White Knight, newly elected District Attorney Harvey Dent. This all changes with the introduction of a grinning manic freak known as the Joker.
Heath Ledger's demonic, frenzied performance as the aforementioned villain makes the film and terrifies the audience. His joker is a costumed freak who comes out of nowhere, without a back story, a plan (unless you count creating as much chaos as possible) or even a name, this total lack of motivation makes him if anything, more frightening, he is truly the devil incarnate. Interested in nothing more than causing anarchy and wishing to include everyone in his horrific fun, going so far as to pit the passengers of two ferry's together in a death match of sorts, and being terribly upset when they refuse to comply.
On the other side of the moral divide are three heroes, those who have made the most significant contributions to making Gotham a safer place and are working the hardest to keep it so. The newest member of this trio is Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) Gotham's newly elected district attorney, an idealistic and charismatic man who has succeeded in putting a large portion of Gotham's criminal underworld behind bars. The second member is Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), one of Gotham's few good cops and a Batman's most avid supporter on the police force. Finally we come to the second central character in our drama, The Batman. Equally effective as Batman or Bruce Wayne Christian Bale owns this role in a way none of his predecessors did, he is a gifted actor and brings us convincingly through Bruce and Batman's struggles and doubts, he is not a perfect hero, oh no this movie has none of those, but he is ultimately the only man Gotham can put her trust in.
The most interesting facet of the Dark Knight is not the many chases, explosions, and fight scenes, but director Christopher Nolan's examination of a city fallen into chaos, and his musings on what it means to be a hero " You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain" says Harvey Dent, Nolan wants to know if this is true. By the middle of the film Gotham is a semblance of the city it once was,having been torn down with insane glee by the Joker. He has turned the city's inhabitants against one another and is toying with those who try to stop him, forcing them into impossible moral conundrums and sick games. This is where the film begins to ask its questions. This is Gotham's and Batman's darkest hour, where it would be so easy to slip into the void and be lost forever. Nolan subtly explores these gray areas as Batman is forced to do things unethical to stop an even greater evil. But to the Jokers dismay Batman's besieged ideals never fully collapse, he repeatedly refuses to kill the Joker not even when he does something far beyond justification, not even when he wounds the Batman personally does Batman sink to the Jokers level. But coming face to face with this unspeakable evil shakes him to his core, he may not fall completely but he comes perilously close to the edge, even going so far to lock Joker in a room and beat him savagely. Batman may be impossible to break but his companions are not so strong, Gotham's White Knight, the man all their hope is pinned on has fallen. Horribly scarred both mentally and physically by the Joker. He rampages around the city exacting revenge on those he deems responsible for his downfall. Using a coin to decide who lives and dies and justifying this by saying " In an amoral world the only justice is chance".
In direct relation to this Nolan is not only interested in what happens to people when they are plunged into fearful anarchy but what happens to society. His portrayal of a destroyed society while bleak, and frightening is ultimately hopeful. The Joker is trying to prove that he can make everyone like him, and is successful to a degree, however the majority of the people when confronted with the abyss turn back. In the end Nolan's decides that people are stronger than the Joker believes and while we may sink into the gray areas in the end we will choose what is right.
Nolan's film is an epic masterpiece, a well crafted provocative drama that deserves to be watched. The questions it raises are not easy ones and like all great films it leaves you walking out of the multiplex slightly shaken and wishing you just had a little more time in his world. The Dark Knight is not merely a well crafted piece of entertainment but a powerful drama, and takes its rightful title as the best ever comic book film with nihilistic and ultimately noble style.