The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight may be the pinnacle of Christopher Nolan’s prestigious career in filmmaking. Every shot, line, performance and effect is just stunning in it’s perfection. On my first watch, I had a rough idea of what to expect and was totally blown away. It was iconic scene after iconic scene. There wasn’t a single relatively bad moment from Heath Ledger’s traumatising performance as the Joker, delivering almost certainly the best performance of the character to date. On top of that, an underrated aspect of the film is how the two characters Batman and Joker are perfectly mirrored throughout the film. For example, when Bruce arrived at Harvey’s fundraiser saying “Now, where is Harvey?”, just minutes later, Joker bursts out of the elevator saying “I just have one question; Where is Harvey Dent?”. This choice of the black and white comparison between the two characters perfectly shows how the Joker is the polar opposite of Batman and, yet, they are the same. This film has been widely praised for Heath Ledger’s iconic performance but should also praise the practical effects such as the truck flip. This film has had an enormous impact on the superhero genre as it was able to blend the grounded world created in Batman Begins with the often fantastical character of the Joker. Christopher Nolan’s direction and passion for the characters really shines through with this film, where everything is thought out and fits the traits of the characters and is still able to make us empathise with them despite being superheroes in a fictional world.
