The Dark Knight could be compared to Ang Lee’s take on the Hulk; it disguises itself as a regular comic book movie but it heads in such directions that it doesn’t feel at all like one. It is so much more than that, there’s so much detail in there, so much going on and just so many unexpected elements working simultaneously that it’s surprising it’s been welcomed as much as it has. It doesn’t function as expected — it’s almost as if it takes the expectations of the audience and twists and contorts them into only a mild resemblance of what they formerly were. But the key to this gamble is that what we get, although it’s different from what we might have expected, is all so good that it’s not just accepted but completely embraced. This is an example of the fact that you can take risks and do something different with a well-trodden genre and still make the fans feel satisfied with the result.
The cast are all back for Nolan’s second go at the character, with the exception of Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. And it’s most definitely a step up in every way; Holmes was probably the biggest problem with Batman Begins, dragging the scenes she was in down more than a few rungs on the ladder with her woodenness but this time around the very talented Gyllenhaal gives the character that much needed believability and compassion. Christian Bale is again excellent as the caped crusader and Gary Oldman (in an expanded role from the one in the previous film), Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman are all predictably impressive in their respective roles.
However there’s one actor who is a psychopathic head above the rest, and I don’t really need to say who it is as you will already know. Heath Ledger is stunning, mesmerising, astonishing, and utterly astounding as Batman’s arch nemesis, The Joker. The way he gets every mannerism, every facial expression, and of course the infamous high-pitched laugh absolutely spot-on is a testament to how deep he dove into the character. No matter how good the rest of the cast are, Ledger is untouchable here and most definitely deserves that Oscar nomination people have been saying he’ll get. And when he does get nominated come next year it won’t be out of sympathy but because he truly deserves it, he really is that damn good. And anyone who states otherwise is wrong; it’s not often I say that flat out but this warrants such a brash statement. Ledger’s performance will go down in the movie villain history books alongside the likes of Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates.
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