Pocket Reviews: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is one of those rare hybrids. It’s a superhero film, all right, a genre riddled with ludicrous misfires (X-Men 3, Spider Man 3, Blade Trinity – enough with the trilogy already) and bloated SFX extravaganza (pick any of the Hulk remakes).

Iron Man had set the standard for witty, well-crafted films, which the Dark Knight easily shatters with one burst from the Batmobile’s exhaust, leaving Tony Stark to eat Batman dust.

We gladly take Chris Nolan’s gritty helming on the latest saga of the Gotham’s favorite playboy-billionaire, and we would gladly be taken for a ride. A tale of dark sides and gray areas, Dark Knight delineates characters that are neither completely white nor completely black.

Strong performances abound, with Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine reprising their roles from Batman Begins. Maggie Gyllenhaal took over the role that Tom Cruise’s deluded wife turned down, and hers is a performance that is both strong and alluring. Aaron Eckhart (I heart Aaron!) was sufficiently menacing as Harvey “Two-Faced” Dent.

Christian Bale proves he is one of the most talented actors of his generation given the right projects (I would even forgive his voice change when he becomes Batman – his voice sounds like Paris Hilton’s nails on blackboard).

But it would be purely criminal to make a review of Batman without mentioning Heath Ledger. *Sob* The Dark Knight makes us realize how much Hollywood lost with his death. His Joker is a complex murderous madman, easy putting to shame Mr Nicholson’s OTT clown act.