Batman: The Dark Knight is out on the 8th of December. It’s bound to be December’s best selling DVD and stock shortages are highly likely. It would make a great Christmas present but a strange one considering it is so dark. It’s hardly it’s a wonderful life. I couldn’t think of a more unfestive character than Heath Ledger’s Joker.
I am a big fan of the Dark Knight. I simply cannot rate this film more highly. I saw it twice, something I never do and was still gripped the second time even though I knew what was going to happen. In fact it is such a rich, complex film with such wonderful characters it is should be watched multiple times simply to appreciate it in full.
Personally I thought Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker was truly electrifying. Every moment he was on screen I was absolutely fixated. He was deeply sinister, absolutely terrifying and wonderfully enigmatic. Unlike most comic villains there was an immense complexity behind the Joker. His goal was not money nor power it was nihilism, his ultimate aim was to subvert society, reveal the true hypocrisy and falsehoods that are common place in today’s world and destroy them.
Ledger’s performance is so good that it sort of eclipses all of the other performances. That isn’t to say Oldman, Gyllenhal, Bale, Eckhart, Caine aren’t all superb in their various portrayals of moral ambiguity. What this film really nails is the idea of black and white: there isn’t really one. The major action in the film revolves round the characters trying to reconcile doing what is best with doing what is right.
This view ignores that it is also an amazing action film as well with gripping fight scenes, car chases, shoot outs and explosions. In the first part of the film, there is an unexpected cameo from Cillian Murphy when Batman is beating up a band of drug dealers. This unexpected cameo sets the tone for the rest of the film which is full of similar surprises with its slippery plot that constantly twists and turns.
Blu-Ray was designed for this film. The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray would allow the home viewer to fully experience the grimy aesthetic and wonderful scale of this film which tackles a whole city and makes it almost palpable to the viewer. In fact I might go and get myself a Blu-ray player just for this film.
