The follow-up to Batman Begins, THE DARK KNIGHT reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of BATMAN /BRUCE WAYNE in his continuing war on crime. With the help of LT. JIM GORDON and District Attorney HARVEY DENT,BATMAN sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves effective, but soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 151 minutes Rating: Pg13
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 paralyzed 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-cowriter 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
On the DVD Unlike the Blu-ray disc, The Dark Knight on DVD is completely in 2.40:1 aspect ratio. You can, however, watch the six IMAX scenes separately. Also on disc 2 are "Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of a Scene," which is behind-the-scenes footage about the Bat suit, the Bat pod, and the music; eight-minute segments of Gotham Central, a faux-news program that gives some background to events in the movie; plus a variety of trailers, poster art, and more. Last, there's a digital copy of the film compatible with iTunes and Windows Media (download code expires 12/9/09). --David Horiuchi
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Love the movie, but the special features........:
This isn't a movie review and that's why the grade. I LOVE this movie beginign to end, but the special features are awfully boring and simplistic that doesn't worth your or my money. There is absolutely nothing cool about them. No enterviews, no featuretes, no deleted scenes, no comic book comparations, no special effect documentary, no make up documentary, no nothing. The movie is awesome, bu the product doesn't worth the effort. I lost my money in this, so I suggest for you to save it and get... more info
for me,it doesn't even touch Batman Begins (2.5/5):
i loved the previous Batman film,Batman Begins.i thought it was brilliant,possibly the best superhero movie ever made.and with the stratospheric hype this film had,combined with the trailers i had seen,i knew i had to see it.many people commented that it more than lived up to the hype,so i expected something earth shattering.to say i was disappointed is an understatement.there were moments where i was bored,and hoped it would end soon.Batman's voice in this movie annoyed me.it sounded like he had swallowed... more info
5 stars for film... 3 stars for extras:
I loved The Dark Knight when I saw it in the theater back in the summer of 08 - it was one of my favorite movies of the year. Despite that fact, this was no exception to my recent difficulty calmly sitting through a movie I've seen before (because there's so much else out there I need to be watching!), but that's just me. The real reason I bought this Blu-Ray was for some excellent special features chronicling the making of this triumphant summer blockbuster, and what I got was a bit underwhelming. The two... more info
Love the crowd:
The actor is good. I like the crowd. thats the only reason i bought it.
