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The Dark Knight (2 Discs) [2008]
from Warner Home Video
starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal
directed by Christopher Nolan

Features:

• PAL

Editorial Review:

The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City's new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralysed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent is now dating Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, after Katie Holmes turned down the chance to reprise her role), the longtime love of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne.

In his last completed role before his tragic death, Ledger is fantastic as the Joker, a volcanic, truly frightening force of evil. And he sets the tone of the movie: the world is a dark, dangerous place where there are no easy choices. Eckhart and Oldman also shine, but as good as Bale is, his character turns out rather bland in comparison (not uncommon for heroes facing more colorful villains). Director/co-writer Christopher Nolan (Memento) follows his critically acclaimed Batman Begins with an even better sequel that sets itself apart from notable superhero movies like Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man because of its sheer emotional impact and striking sense of realism--there are no suspension-of-disbelief superpowers here. At 152 minutes, it's a shade too long, and it's much too intense for kids. But for most movie fans--and not just superhero fans--The Dark Knight is a film for the ages. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Great movie - whats with the voice?
  Great film, awesome performance by the Joker and 2 face. However, there are 2 reasons why i only gave this film 4 stars.
  1. Batmans voice is ridiculous. Its the worse put on gravely voice in film and really grinds on me, esp the last scene with the joker.
  2. Why oh why is that goon Caine, Alfred the butler. Cockney butler for one of the worlds richest tycoons - unlikely. I prefered Michael Gough, a classy English accent.

• More than worth the hype
  The massive media focus on Heath Ledger's tragic death has in its way done this film a disservice - sure, it was publicity, and Ledger's performance really is that astoundingly brilliant, but it tends to overshadow the fact that this entire film is just as astoundingly brilliant.
  From start to finish, this is an incredible, dark and tortured tale of a man who realises that in order to truly be a hero, he must allow himself to be painted the villain. Christian Bale improves on his first outing as Batman... more info

• An absolute legend of a film
  Right, where to start?! As you can probably tell from the title of this review, I was extremely impressed with this film. As a fan of superheroes in general from a very young age to this day, I was horrified by the absolutely atrocious protrayal of batman by the likes of George Clooney and Val Kilmer. For the most part, I consider these two to be good actors but the script was just sooooo terrible that they could do nothing to make the films any good!
  When I heard that Batman Begins was going to... more info

• "You wanted me,here I am"
  My favourite superhero has always been Batman by a long way.It's the dark edge to him,the turmoil that makes him a little different.I thought that the previous movie 'Batman Begins' was a fine effort at re-inventing the franchise away from the almost comic to the intensity that is required nowadays.I read so many glowing tributes about 'The Dark Knight' that I looked forward to seeing it with keen interest.When it was over I thought it was good but not quite as fantastic as I'd hoped.
  The acting was... more info

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