If Batman Begins was a stereotypical superhero film, then The Dark Knight is the opposite of that. This is in part due to Christopher Nolan's genius, but also due to his desire to instill a touch of realness to the Batman franchise. What we get is a film that is on some level, light, yet mixed with darker ingredients that just don't mix the way we want them to.
Heath Ledger's Joker character is of course the cause of much hype around the film. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us, but he will no doubt be immortalized by this role. It's Ledger who made the Joker the character he is, even Nolan could not say no to many of Ledger's improvisations. Ledger sets the mood and tone of the film overall, and like the Joker, the film does not follow any set rules that may exist in our minds.
To my personal disdain, I found myself laughing at many of the Jokers' lines, because on some level many of them were funny. As the film went on, I started realizing that while the lines were funny, there was an inherent evil in the character that I just wasn't accepting. There's perhaps a turning point where the Joker is no longer just a menace, but perhaps a character that is simply to be feared, and his humor nothing but sadistic remarks.
There's of course the excellent plot of the film, again looking at the Gotham crime scene, and how the mob responds to the existence of Batman, and newcomer Harvey Dent. At its roots, beyond the superheroes and supervillains, is a city in chaos from crime and corruption, which still relies on a traditional judicial system. Batman can of course fight crime, but can never really provide justice. This is the question posed throughout the film: where does Batman belong, what's his role?
The Dark Knight is now one of my favorites, if not my favorite linear film of all time. Nolan said he based a lot of the film on Heat, but what he's created far surpasses even the great performance between Pacino and DeNiro, as the dynamics between a cop and bank robber are nothing compared to the dynamics between a logical superhero and an irrational supervillain. While my head and my stomach were tied in knots from the amazement and surprise in the film, I'm far from confused on it's rating. There's no doubt it's getting 5.5 out of 5 stars, and trust me, that isn't a typo.
