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The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Critics' rating

Average user rating

170 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out New York

Smart directors tend to adopt a one-for-them, one-for-me ideology in their relationship with the studios; the dichotomy, however, usually doesn’t play out in a single film. Christopher Nolan’s sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins internalizes that schism between serious aims and summer-movie duties. The problem isn’t the admittedly jaw-dropping sturm und drang—this is Batman, not Bergman—but how the pummeling action rarely informs the psychological angst. The personality split between the operatic Dark Knight of the soul and the OMG set pieces is almost as pronounced as the maladies of our freak trio.

That would be the Caped Crusader (Bale), still wrestling with a DSM-IV’s worth of disorders; Harvey Dent (Eckhart), Gotham City’s do-gooder district attorney with a transformational face-lift coming his way; and the Joker (Ledger). Thankfully, an origin story isn’t offered for the grinning archnemesis; he simply appears like the Ebola virus, armed with an insatiable appetite for destruction and John Wayne Gacy’s makeup manual. Next to Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s propulsive drone of a score, Ledger’s performance is the most dynamic element of the movie. What the late actor accomplishes with little more than a nurse uniform and a Groucho Marx waddle makes the various explosions, as well as Bale’s raspy, remote characterization, pale in comparison. If Nolan’s only goal were to add to another revisionist wrinkle to an iconic villain, Ledger’s brutal, batshit malevolence would qualify The Dark Knight as a success.

The stakes, however, are higher. To paraphrase a colleague, the director is going for the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance of men-in-tights films, and he comes remarkably close. Nolan is pondering big themes: post-9/11 concepts of justice, the fragility of social bonds, when it’s better to simply print the legend. All of which makes superfluous side trips like an IMAX-ed Mission: Impossible–style sequence that much more disappointing. Yes, it’s visually impressive, but any hack can do a halfway decent job with trailer-ready tangents. Not everyone can push the genre forward, and the fact that Nolan’s padded popcorn flick isn’t the streamlined masterpiece it could have been is a real buzzkill.

Author: David Fear 2008-07-15 15:57:55

Time Out New York Issue 668: July 17–23, 2008

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User reviews of this film

borrisbatanov said...

Posted on Jul 25 2008 23:51 Amazing, this outpouring of enthusiasm for what' s really a sprawling mess, a movie grappling for one thrill to top the last.
Sad: Junkies of excitement need an ever stronger fix. This is it.
Got way tired of the plot reversals and ultimate standoffs at least 45 minutes before the lights went on.
Ledger ain't nothin', just another tongue waggin' pervert. Give him an Oscar? No, give me an Oscar for knowing how to pump gas.
O, Batman sacrifices himself like Jesus, the scapegoat. Hmmm, smells like teenage suffering.
Enjoyed shots of Lower Wacker, as if enuff movies haven't already been shot down there, eg, Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer.
Spend $$$ on a movie and they will come, like lonely ants needing to spawn and praise the lord.

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Jason said...

Posted on Jul 25 2008 10:34 Best IMAX movie ever.

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martin said...

Posted on Jul 25 2008 02:53 a lot of money being made here
because people are sheep

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roger said...

Posted on Jul 25 2008 02:49 forgot to rate it
it sucked
like a ride at the amusement park.
a safe thrill, woo-hoo

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roger said...

Posted on Jul 25 2008 02:40 whatever. this is something that will be on hbo for twenty years like die hard and terminator and all that. pure entertainment. not much else. popularity don't make it good. and film can be art, this is mere craft attempting to overcome a dumb pointless plot cheesy dialogue. the joker stole what liittle there was to steal. what a waste of time.

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Neal Klein said...

Posted on Jul 24 2008 06:10 You nail so many things in the review that are right with the film, and some of its shortcomings. I'll grant you that. But the way you claim the movie could have been so much more leaves me wondering what in Hell your expectations are in any detail. You spend so much of the review (and necessarily so) describing the plot and characters, but the criticisms seem to slam the maturity the Nolan brothers strive for (and achieve, IMHO). The film is exhausting at times, and Ledger's absence from any scene drops the intensity from manic to just intense, but with all the good points you cite, would it have killed you to balance the rating with at least one more star? It's sad, because of the contrary reviews I've read, this one comes closest to offering valid criticism. Yet, it misses from being on the money, and THAT was, for me, a buzzkill.

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mfbinc said...

Posted on Jul 24 2008 00:46 Does anyone realize that Batman and Joker in their original forms where as dark as they appeared in this movie? Seriously, if your knowledge of Batman starts with the 1960's tv show then maybe you should go back and read the early 40's stuff before you comment on this film being "too dark." It's perfect Batman and Ledger redefines Joker. Nicholson's version of Joker was just a copy of Caesar Romero's but with killing.

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richard weinstein said...

Posted on Jul 23 2008 22:52 this is NOT a superhero movie. it's NOT a comic book movie.
this is a statement about the time which we live in, and how we want to see ourselves, what we could see ourselves as, and ultimately the dangers of what we can become...
put simply:
ledger does for the role of joker what chris reeves did for superman. this is the new gold standard and could potentially forever change joker's image in pop culture. it will be almost impossible for anybody to do a plausible follow-up-- be it illustrated, live action, or animated-- that will be as effective as this one... this performance makes nicholson's "darker" joker of 1989-- a performance raved about by bob kane himself-- as campy-looking as caeser romero's joker of the 1960's tv show. ledger's character-portrayal could be called by any other name, put it in any other movie, and it would be the talk of hollywood as one of the scariest characters in recent memory.

never mind the fact that in this movie, everything and everyone is the star getting equal screen time, including batman, joker, harvey dent-- in a poetically brilliant portrayal by eckhardt-- gotham city, jim gordon, lucius fox, and all the tertiary characters and pyrotechnics.....
never mind the basic storytelling flaws (among them characters "disappear" while other characters are still, technically, looking in their direction) and completely illogical timelines....
never mind that we still don't get an accurate explanation as to how any of batman's villains convince and recruit their hired thugs to devotedly do their bidding...
never mind anything and everything that you would normally want to nit-pick.
this film's main flaw is that it's TOO good. there was always a secret joy for fans in being unsatisfied, always complaining how the director never got this or that just right-- it always gave us, the audience, a reason to want and demand more attempts.... we always seemed to love the filmmakers' efforts more than the product given to us. but now that the joy of fan-geekdom complaining has been robbed from us, all i can say is: "thanks!!!!!!"
go see it--
you'll be MORE than glad you did.....

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icarus said...

Posted on Jul 23 2008 13:35 I canceled my TONY subscription a while a go just because their Film Critics. They clearly have no idea what they are talking about and if I chose the movies I watch based on what they say...the same 3 stars they give to a brave movie like Batman Dark Knight they give to Mama Mia! Oh boy...please guys over there at TONY, get a clue and please learn a bit more about what you are writing before you write. Batman Dark Knight portraits Batman the way he should have been always portraited on the screen: a psychotic hero with a split personality that has a bunch of split personality enemies that identify themselves with the Batman and this film does that to perfection!

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Chris said...

Posted on Jul 23 2008 12:22 I've been reading a lot of the more critical reviews of this movie and I don't understand why so many commenters see them as an attack, or some kind of bashing. Is no one allowed to have an opinion that doesn't match up with the majority (which has no doubt been inspired in some way by all the hype)?
I saw this movie last night, and I left feeling dissapointed, like I was just thrown another generic hollywood blockbuster with some occassionally brilliant and breath-taking moments. I couldn't really put my finger on what I really found wrong with it but after reading a bunch of these reviews its a lot clearer. All of you fans need to stop taking these as personal attacks and realize that not everyone shares your opinion. The movie wasn't bad, I just didn't really like it. (The movie wasn't that good)
Critics are being accused of being critical for the sake of it

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Omar said...

Posted on Jul 23 2008 08:56 Candy, first you said you enjoyed other Batman movies better,aside from the Original Batman or Batman Begins no other Batman movie was worth watching. Nolan's Batman movies are not true to the actual comic book, but contain the roots and character relations from the Batman story. For once try to imagine that a movie can make a comic better, and this has. Stop comparing the movie and just sit back and watch it on a clean slate. Heith will be nomiated and possibly win the Oscar for best actor, and sweety Jack's Joker was no where near as great as Heith's. About your comment on giving Fear the boot, i agree its drastic (i too wanted that), but you need to understand that his review is terrible. When you read his review closely, aside from GRE words, there is no solid argument. One more thing, about the get a life thing, you posted 20 mins after you got home. You posted, well your on the boat with the rest of us.

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Candy said...

Posted on Jul 23 2008 00:15 Just watched Dark Night 20 minutes ago was entertained but still like other Batman flicks better. Even if I do not completely agree with the review, it pretty much hit the nail on the head. The movie did not stick to the original comic which nothing out of the ordinary for Hollywood but if you don't mind you'll like it. As for all of these so called Batman fans quit giving spoiler alerts! If you've read the comic book or watched other Batman movies you pretty much can figure it out before hand. For all of those who commented to give Fear the boot, GET A LIFE! It's not that serious and he backs up each point he makes wether you agree or disagree. Last but not least I enjoyed Ledger's twisted role of the Joker. I don't think he played the best joker (NIcholson did play him true to the comic book) but he definitely played the best sadistic and dark one.

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Omar said...

Posted on Jul 22 2008 23:12 You know what.. im really upset by this review... im actually thinking about canceling Time Out because of this guy,,, Lets see.. please voice your opinion if you agreee with me

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Omar said...

Posted on Jul 22 2008 23:01 I honestly think David Fear is out of his mind. Does Time Out Magazine really want this guy to go against the $160+Million record braking of all-time, is this magazine really going to represent this point of view.This movie raised the bar for action movies. You dont have to be a fan of Batman to love this movie. Just because Heith 's aperformance was so amazing you just want to keep seeing him doesnt make the other's acting bad... its just that his was so unbelievable. If this David Fear guy is correct.. was about all of us who thought it was amazing... This is one of my fav movies of all time

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William said...

Posted on Jul 22 2008 19:49 Basically, and i HAVE to honor all my Woody Allenish stuff, basically, ther sociodynamic of the good bad black white are all to evident, yet stylized and made art out of. Symbolism is evenly applied across the humocentric spectrum, lending an air of creditable vertite' to the mileau.

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