I would like to brag that I was one of the first to discover Brit director Christopher Nolan.  When my mate and I were organizing Britpics in Toronto (a week of British film) back in 2000, we programmed his first film, the black and white FOLLOWING.  Nolan went on to make MEMENTO, INSOMNIA, BATMAN BEGINS and THE PRESTIGE.  All his films are dark, both in the storyline and often in the lighting. 

THE DARK KNIGHT is especially dark with the action taking place in Gotham City where the sun seldom shines.  But the darkness lies in the narrative – in the twisting of truth and the fine line that divides good and evil.  Nolan’s film is extremely violent.  The tagline “Why so serious?” will be forever remembered not only for the reason that it is uttered by the late Heath Ledger but for the fact that The Joker has had a permanent smile slit across his face as a kid.  But the strange blend of black humour continues whenever Ledger as the Joker appears.  One appearance involves a trick in which he makes a pencil magically disappear.  Ledger is so good (thanks to great lines offered to him by Nolan and Jonathan Nolan) that one longs for him to appear on the screen.  This is definitely Ledger as his best since his remarkable role as Skip, the pot smoking leader of the surfing kids in THE LORDS OF DOGTOWN.  But what is most impressive is Nolan and Ledger’s embodiment of The Joker as pure evil.  As Alfred the butler claims, The Joker does not want money or fame.  He just wants to see the world burn.  He also uses a knife instead of a gun in order to savour his victim’s last moments before death.

Gary Oldman reprises his role as Lt. Jim Gordon.  The film traces his rise to Commissioner of Gothan City as in the d.c. Batman comics.  The best banter occurs between millionaire Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and the wise butler, Alfred (Michael Caine) who knows it all.  Katie Holmes who plays Rachel in BATMAN BEGINS is replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal.  The film offers a glimpse of the villain, The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) in a cop van at the film’s start.  It is interesting to note that most of the talent in DARK KNIGHT are not American.  Oldman, Caine, Bale and Nolan are Brits; Murphy is Irish and Ledger Australian.

Nolan handles the action sequences much better than in BATMAN BEGINS where discontinuity was noticeable.  The Bat-Pod and The Tumbler make an impressive addition to Batman’s Lamborghini Batmobile.  The idea of screening the film on IMAX pays off.  The screen, several stories high in the IMAX theatre is perfect for the one scene in which a multi-storey building is burning as for others.  The make-up of the D.A.’s (Aaron Eckhart) scarred face is so well done that it will surely invoke nightmares of many who see the film. 

THE DARK KNIGHT, unlike other comic book movies has a good story.  This is what distinguishes D.C. comics from other comic books like Marvel and Dark Horse.  Nolan’s film is also clever enough to balance predictability with anticipation.  The first bank robbery sequence has the robbers doing away with each other one by one (with wicked humour) while claiming that their planner should not get a share as he did not participate in the act.  While the audience knows that the mastermind will not only show up and do away with all his hired men, the audience will also be keen for The Joker’s first appearance on screen.

THE DARK KNIGHT is one of the best comic book adaptations ever.  Combining CGI, special effects technology, pyrotechnic explosions, expert direction and writing and brilliant acting, this film will be hard to beat.  The best thing about THE DARK KNIGHT is that Nolan and his crew were willing to push the film past limits in violence and narrative and the risk works.  This is the first film on my year’s top 10 list.