I watched Christopher Nolan’s movie called The Dark Knight. Well actually, I’ve seen it for seven times during the past three years. In my opinion, it is one of the greatest action films ever made and not only because of the handsome Mr. Batman.
The Dark Knight is the second movie of the Batman trilogy in which the Gotham’s hero gets to know his soon-to-be arch enemy, Joker. The whole plot simplified could be summarized in a few sentences: Joker, who presumably suffers from mental health issues, creates some anarchy and chaos only to entertain himself. He terrorizes Gotham and its citizens to stamp down order and piece. All he wants is to watch the world burn. The beloved savior, Batman, fights against Joker’s calling to create mayhem, but soon realizes that his foe isn’t one of the criminals who run after money and who could be defeated with force or weaponry. The tricky clown only wants to play cat and mouse with his opponent and is going to do that everlastingly without killing Batman.
Characters living in Gotham are originally known from comics and Tim Burton’s movie trilogy before Nolan’s version of them. In my opinion is the latest Joker played by Heath Ledger absolutely the best and he leaves Jack Nicholson’s version of Joker in the shade. Ledger acts out the notorious anarchist perfectly and causes chills to every viewer. It is rumoured, that this particular role caused him anxiety and eventually his sudden death in 2008 just before the movie’s premiere. The truth is that he spent six weeks in a dark hotel room all by himself trying to bring out his inner Joker right before the filming started. He really found the madness inside of him and succeeded in bringing the psychopath killer to the big screen. I wasn’t the only one to praise Ledger’s performance for he was granted an Oscar after his sudden death caused by overdose of sleeping pills.
Casting in The Dark Knight is flawless, Christian Bale as Batman was brilliant choice and other actors playing the lead roles succeeded also. But the real honor of the film’s huge success goes to Ledger’s Joker. The character himself is very compelling and his hatred towards other criminals who kill for money is an unusual and interesting feature. ”It’s not about money, it’s about sending a message…Everything burns”, said by Joker while setting an enormous amount of money on fire, is one indication of his urge to give Gotham good criminals who don’t fancy wealth. Joker’s utterances in the film are legendary and it’s kind of his thing to be one sharp-tongued and sassy thorn in Batman’s flesh. ”I believe, whatever doesn’t kill you, simply makes you… Stranger.” ”You see madness, as you know, is just like gravity… All it takes is a little push.” ”Why so serious?” There are many undying lines that Heath Ledger as Joker has brought to global renown. Spectators love villains like Joker who are absolutely insane but somehow very irresistible. Maybe it’s his look, all that smudged makeup, outrageously colourful clothes or his green greasy hair that gets us interested in him. Besides that, he has one of the most amusing yet creepy laughters in the film history. There is only one thing that bothers me in casting. In the first film, Batman begins, there was another actress playing Bruce Wayne’s alias Batman’s sweetheart than in the second film.
The soundtrack of The Dark Knight is one of its best sides. It’s made by Hans Zimmer, who has also composed the soundtrack of The Lion King and Pirates of the Caribbean as well as Sherlock Holmes and he has won eight Oscars. Music in The Dark Knight is truly oppressive, devastating but in all its gloominess very beautiful. It includes lots of powerful string instruments. Especially Joker’s theme is really creepy and every time in the film when Joker starts telling the story behind his scars, there starts playing a growing voice made by violin in the background. When he reaches the end of his story all orchestra plays a very low and sudden voice which really gives me chills. So in my view is the soundtrack wonderfully done and it really fits with the film’s atmosphere. Come to think of it, the whole movie is worth praising. It is one of my all time favourite action films and will always be. No one can ever act with such passion like Heath Ledger did back in 2008 or make a better trilogy than Christopher Nolan did. There is to come a new Batman movie with new actors in it in a few years and I’m a bit prejudiced. Is a new version of the beloved story really necessary? We’ll see.