Except for Cosmo Landesman in the Sunday Times, The Dark Knight has had universally positive reviews. I’ve wanted to find out whether it lives up to the hype since I saw the trailer two months ago: does Heath Ledger give the performance of his life? Is this the first superhero film fit for the 21st century? Does the batsuit have nipples? Using free vouchers (thanks Nick) I went along to the Cineworld Chavside (aka Southside, Wandsworth) last night.
The film delivers, and then some. It’s much darker and more serious than previous films, including Tim Burton’s warped vision in Batman and Batman Returns. The plot is thick and solid, on the right side of complex (this comes from a man who finds the plot of Commando confusing). The special effects are impressive, but not overwhelming.
Christian Bale does his usual superb job, giving a convincing performance as a superhero troubled by his role in society. It gives this genre of film a new dimension which I don't think has ever been covered as well before.
But, as everyone has said, it's Heath Ledger who steals the show. He is unbelievable. It's worth seeing the film just for his performance. It's scary. He's scary.
Except for some ridiculous sub-plot involving mobile phones, the film flows well. At two and a half hours long, it could have had some fat trimmed, though I worry anything left out could damage the film as a whole. It deserves to be number 1 on the iMDB list of all time great films. See it.