The Dark Knight

Wow... for so many reasons. There's been a lot of hype around the latest Batman movie and to come out of the theatre not being dissapointed says alot. First of all, it's a Batman movie. We've all seen the classic Batman movies featuring George Clooney, Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton but this doesn't even come close to those. Batman movies have been more or less straight forward with the typical heroes and bad-guys and very accesible (without sounding condecending.. they have all been easy to follow by a large audience) The Dark Knight turns the stereotypical hero/enemy picture upside-down and then a little to the side. The Joker played by Heath Ledger is a great character and becomes even better by his great performance. He doesn't seem like the typical bad guy as he seems insecure and not in control. He stutters and walks without confidence. His weapon of choice is psychological terror and simple dynamite. He doesn't aim to get rich or rule the world, he just does what he does for the fun of it. Refreshing to see a character that does somthing out of the simple pleasure of it (even if it's mean) instead of having motives like money, fame or power. Alot of the movie is carried by the Joker in my opinion.

Secondly, the story in itself is also rather sophisticated and not very predictable. The plot takes a lot of turns and the characters first thought of as the good guys might end up doing some bad things which keeps things interesting. Batman himself played by Christian Bale has to struggle with being hated by the people, not so much for the things he does interestingly enough, but for the consequences of his presence in Gotham City.

Last but not least, much of The Dark Knight's success should be assigned to Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia, The Prestige and Batman Begins), who has given this cartoon character substance along with rich supporting characters, an interesting story, a dark Gotham City and morals not often seen in a Hollywood blockbuster. Batman is the hero but not for obvious reasons like him being able to kick ass and drive around in fancy cars, but because he does what is best for Gotham City, even if that doesn't make him a hero in the eyes of the people of Gotham.

I was very surprised at how interesting and rich this movie was considering it is yet another Batman movie. It does ofcourse have its moments with flashy cars and pretty girls but to the large extent this movie is everything it shouldn't be which I think is why it's been such a success.