So I watched it a couple of days ago... and it took me some time to articulate my thoughts because I was not sure how to rate this film..
I am not sure if that's even necessary? The verdict is out...its has smashed almost every box office record. It is currently the second highest grosser behind Titanic.
Christopher Nolan is one of those rare filmmakers who has been able to please both critics and the masses..
I am not here to say "oh its the greatest film ever made" nor am I here to say "oh no...its blasphemous to compare any film with The Godfather....IMDB Top 250 is a load of crap" because frankly I consider the concepts of the 250 greatest films of all time or the greatest film ever meaningless.
I enjoyed the film, found every bit of it entertaining but I have a few issues with the film..
First lets address the million dollar question
Is it the best superhero film? No..Batman Begins was better
Batman has always been my childhood hero...From the Batman on TV to Michael Keaton's Batman...I loved them all...
But Batman Begins completely redefined Batman..the film took Batman to the next level...brought in the elements of morality, character etc...it explored various themes magnificently. For the first time...here was a superhero film with an indispensable superhero...you cannot take out Batman from the film and replace him with Spiderman or Superman and have the same film...No...Nolan had made the character that powerful...
Christopher Nolan is an extremely capable director and I was sure he was going to deliver with The Dark Knight too...and he does deliver in the sense that he doesn't fail..The Dark Knight is not a bad film...its an entertaining, thrilling ride...but its just that...With a film like Batman Begins behind him..Nolan had everything going for him to reach a higher level...to explore even higher depths..does he?? No...sadly he plays to the galleries...simply touches on certain issues and never bothers to explore them
The second issue I have with the film is The Joker... Ok its a great performance...a great role... I am really impressed with what Nolan and Ledger did with the character...but when I go to watch a Batman film....I go to see Batman...the film is called The Dark Knight...who is The Dark Knight? - Batman
Instead...all I see is The Joker everywhere...the best dialogues...the best scenes are written for The Joker..Ok Heath Ledger is an integral part of this film..its his last film....and its a great role and performance...Right...I get the point...but all this can be secondary...here it takes precedence over Batman himself.. There was not even a single powerful dialogue written for Batman...and it was supposed to be a Batman film!!
Even Harvey Dent had a better role than Batman although his transition could have been better handled.
And I also don't get the big deal about Heath Ledger too..It was only about 2 years ago that he became an actor with Brokeback Mountain..he probably has 2-3 performances to talk about and people are talking about him as if he is Marlon Brando! Don't get the big deal...
Christian Bale had nothing to do sadly!! Aaron Ekhart was very good as Harvey Dent..the second best performance in the film! Maggie Gyllenhaal had to look pretty..and she didn't succeed totally!!
The Dark Knight is a good, decent entertaining thriller...with some great performances and dialogues... but given the potential and talent of the people involved..it could have been a much much better film.. The sad part was...Nolan had the chance..instead he just played to the galleries! It would have been a challenge to explore the character further and something I would have expected the talented duo of the Nolan brothers to take...Unfortunately they didn't...they knew they had a winner in the Joker and they knew it would work...and they were happy..and everyone else is happy as well...
I guess its then time for me to end this rant and be happy as well..
