It is the most successful film in the Batman trilogy by Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight is leaving Netflix’s catalog in a week. The third opus, The Dark Knight Rises too, but it is the one with the Joker that we recommend.
What is it about ?
In this new installment, Batman ups the ante in his war on crime. Backed by Police Lieutenant Jim Gordon and Gotham District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to root out the organized crime that swarms the city. Their association is very effective but it will soon be turned upside down by the chaos unleashed by an extraordinary criminal that the citizens of Gotham know as the Joker.
The Dark Knight, a film written by Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, directed by Christopher Nolan with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart… Until August 14 on Netflix
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight has been hailed as one of the best superhero movies of all time, something that hasn’t changed over the years. While superhero movies have been on the rise for decades now, there’s one character and one movie in particular that stand above all others even today. The Dark Knight not only revolutionized the superhero genre, but also influenced a wide range of films that followed.
An iconic Joker
Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is nothing short of legendary. By fully immersing himself in character, Heath Ledger kind of set a new standard – one that’s hard to beat – for how a villain can be portrayed in a realistic world and setting. Moreover, the underlying notion of anarchic terrorism throughout the film anchors it a little more in the real world. For the first time, this Joker inspired real terror in the spectators.
A perfect duo of villains
As iconic – and rightly so – the Joker is as a villain, Two-Face has proven to be the perfect complement to the Clown Prince of Crime. For the sake of the plot, it takes time to orchestrate Harvey Dent’s (Aaron Eckhart) downfall and thus achieve maximum emotional impact, but they’re both electric even when not directly interacting with one another. with the other. Two-Face is thrilling and unpredictable, but it doesn’t distract from the film’s central antagonist.
A constant tension
Superhero movies almost always depict a battle unfolding on city streets with stunned spectators watching the main character fight a cool supervillain. The destruction of the city is chaotic and exaggerated but always represented as something inconsequential. As if the damage caused was not real (hello Marvel). The Dark Knight portrays destruction in such a way that audiences feel both uncomfortable and vulnerable. The carnage is not only realistic but plausible. Seeing a hospital leveled by bombs is just one example of the real tension provided by the film, and remains an image etched in our memories.
Warner Bros. Christian Bale as Batman
real supporting characters
Too many one-person superhero movies tend to have an array of secondary characters who simply serve as scenery or props for the audience to better understand the hero. Few movies actually use these characters for anything more than a practical tool. The Dark Knight puts its secondary characters in the foreground, they are an integral part of the story. Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Harvey Dent played active roles in tracking down the Joker, while Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Lucius (Morgan Freeman), and Alfred (Michael Caine) each played their full roles. They are not just sidekicks, they are also capable of defending themselves.
No happy ending
The Dark Knight is not a traditional superhero film and does not take place as such. The film’s central turning point shows Rachel Dawes being murdered by a Harvey Dent, suffering horrific facial injuries. Injuries that have led to a real psychological breakdown that literally derails him and breaks with his principles. This act comes back to haunt Batman in the last moments of the film which ends by leaving a taste of bitterness in the mouth. Making it one of the darkest superhero movies ever made. There’s no happy ending, at least not in the conventional sense, which is a direct slap in the face to most superhero movies that have come before, and it’s the perfect way to shake things up.
A Christian Bale at the top
There’s been a nice cast of actors who played Batman before Christian Bale. Some of them have really excellent performances while others failed… Michael Keaton is one of the best representatives of Batman, but his interpretation would probably not hold up today. Conversely, Christian Bale demonstrates what a modern-day Batman looks like. The Englishman has the acting qualities necessary to bring the proper gravity to the role. While great as Batman, Christian Bale is equally compelling as the tortured and broken man Bruce Wayne.
The Dark Knight, and also The Dark Knight Rises, are leaving Netflix’s catalog on August 14th.