Ultimate 2000s Blogathon: The Dark Knight (2008) by MovieRob

Next up is one of the most avid and frequent movie reviews in our blogging community, MovieRob. If you haven’t been to his blog, he just reached his 5000th review milestone. His reviews are straight and to the point, features a cool quote, some trivia. Its a blast to join in and see everything he watches and reviews. If you haven’t been there before, you should definitely head there and check it out.  This time he takes us to a great film in the 2000s, no doubt a lot of people’s favorite, The Dark Knight, the second film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy. Do I really need to introduce it more?

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“I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan”. But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair!” – The Joker

Number of Times Seen – More than 10 times (Twice in Theater including opening Day, DVD, Jun 2012, 13 May 2014, 20 Apr 2017 and 8 Jan 2019)

Link to original review – Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – After a new villainous threat begins to terrorize Gotham, Batman teams up with Gordon and the new DA, Harvey Dent to try and save the city.

If you have never seen this movie, I urge you to stop reading this post, read my two original non-spoiler reviews (linked Here and Here), watch the movie and finally after you’ve seen it, absorbed it and even cheered a bit (I did every time that I’ve watched it) then come back here for a review and analysis full of spoilers.

I have always been a fan of superhero movies and always enjoyed watching the Tim Burton version of Batman.

When Christopher Nolan made this film he found a way to completely raise the level of genre and it no longer was considered just fun but it now also could be a powerful storytelling device.

Bat man Begins was also great, but this film did so much near perfect and remains even after 11 years the very best superhero movie ever made and will probably remain that way for quite a long time.

No one (not even Nolan) himself have been able to find a story to top this one no matter how hard they have tried.

Heath Ledger does a superb job as the Joker and also remains the best portrayal of a superhero villain on film.

With this performance, he was able to break free of the stigma that Superhero movies are not just for kids.

Ledger won an Oscar for his performance and the film itself caused a change in the whole Oscar voting system because how could a film this powerful fail to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

The music by Hans Zimmer is haunting and allows us to get into this complex and amazing story of good vs. evil so well it resonates for days after watching it.

The action sequences are planned extraordinarily and the story is filled with so many twists and turns that you are in for a helluva thrilling ride.

This is no children’s superhero film because they let some of the main characters die which helps make this story feel even more realistic because no one is truly safe from the terror of the villain.

The kinds of ‘tricks’ tat the Joker plays works really well because they give the viewer so much to think about.

This isn’t just a villain who wants money or carnage, he is one who will do anything to mess with the minds of those trying to stop him.

This is all apparent from the first scene because we see how the bank heist moves in ways that are quite unique and allow us to get an idea as to what kind of chaos the Joker is trying to put Gotham through just for the very fun of it all.

The fact that we learn nothing about the Joker also works really well because it adds to the unpredictability of it all.

The Joker pours his heart out twice during the film about how he got his scars but both stories contradict one another which leads us to believe that he just likes to tell crazy stories and it doesn’t matter if they are true or not.

It’s too bad that playing this character put such a toll on Ledger that he ended up accidentally overdosing while trying to recover from this transformation.

He was quite deserving of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role and remains one of the best screen villains to date.

The story is very dark, yet still feels so realistic throughout and this is still Nolan’s best film that even he will have trouble topping one day.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The bus crashing backwards into the bank in the opening sequence was much harder to pull off than was anticipated. The bus had to be taken apart and reassembled inside the building (a disused post office), concealed behind a large false wall, and then propelled backwards with an air cannon. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10)

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A huge thanks to MovieRob for joining us with this fantastic choice to share his favorite film of the 2000s. Its one that ranks pretty high with us as well. Remember to head over and check out his blog and give him a follow!

As always, you can find the full list of entries updated daily HERE!