The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

The film The Dark Knight is an unforgettable sequel to the Batman comic-book series and is directed by Christopher Nolan. In this movie Batman (Christian Bale) begins fighting his usual criminal culprits, in this case the mafia. This drastically changes when a string of corporate banks are robbed by the sinister, Joker (Heath Ledger). When Batman is forced to combat an evil force that has no conscious and isn't afraid of death, major decisions need to be addressed within Gotham's Police Department, whether Batman is supportive or not. 

All characters, Batman included, played authentic roles in this action flick. However, Heath Ledger's role as the Joker was my favorite to watch in this film. Ledger not only used action acting, but used dramatic acting. The Art of Watching Films, states dramatic acting is: "sustained, intense dialogue with another person and requires an emotional and psychological depth seldom called for in action acting." Ledger, in my opinion, is faced with the toughest role in the whole film; to make everyone hate you. The Joker's character is unique to the film because unlike most characters who are directed to react naturally to most situations, Heath Ledger's character was instructed to do the opposite with a smile on his face. One example of Heath Ledger's brilliance is when Batman tosses him off a roof to his death and the Joker keeps a smile on his face, as if he was looking forward to death or that he didn't think it was his time for death. The development of the Joker's character was a good call on Director Nolan's behalf because it adds depth to the plot and asks viewers psychological questions while the crime plot is unraveled.

Throughout the movie Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) serves as an important developing character. Eckhart at first plays a District Attorney concerned with stopping crime and for awhile I even questioned if he would transform into Batman's character. The irony of this situation is that Eckhart's life is drastically altered when his life is ruined by a severe scar cutting his face into a good and bad side. I believe Eckhart flawless fulfills his role in transitioning from a major player in stopping crime to an estranged "2-Face" seeking revenge against all characters. 

One of the most enjoyable features for me about this Batman movie is all of the puzzles to solve. The very first scene does a perfect job of catching the audience off guard. I really enjoy how Nolan emphasized the preciseness of The Joker's plan to rob the corporate banks, but to make sure he is the only one who gets the money. Also, Nolan intensifies the Joker's brilliance by not showing the Joker's identity until he had the money, using Joker masks for the operation, and using a school bus for the get-away in a uniform pattern. 

One of the most interesting symbols that I found in this film was the 2 headed coin. At the beginning of this film the coin may stand for the good luck of Harvey Dent, but after the accident Harvey Dent quickly becomes the villain "2-Face" and as this occurs the coin changed in color on one-side to dark. I believe this change in color represents Harvey's jump from the good side of crime to the bad one. I also believe the coin can symbolize the hot-topic of post traumatic stress disorder for military veterans. This is because Harvey was a lucky man before the explosion in oil, but afterword he lost his normalcy of life. The normalcy of life Harvey lost could be similar to veterans with PTSD because he didn't die in a life-changing experience, but lived through it and is forced to live a normal life with an altered state of mind. Finally, the Joker serves as a symbol of Irony. When playing cards, a Joker is not the highest card, but can pleasure the King and Queen. In the opposite light, the Joker in this film uses sick-psychological jokes, displeases society, and for a majority of the movie seems like the highest ranked card.