The Dark Knight (Part 3 of 3)

The Direction

Just like in the first film, Christopher Nolan knows how to film sweeping and spinning grand shots. This film takes it up a few points with the grand shots. One shot has Batman standing above the cityscape of Hong Kong as the camera spins around.

The action in this follow up is definitely sharper and an improvement over the first movie. It appears that he took the criticism of the first film to heart and pulled the camera out a bit to show us a better view of the action. One good example of this is at the beginning with Batman fighting The Scarecrow’s men. Yet, there is room for improvement on Nolan’s part. Sometimes the action doesn’t seem to make sense because the angles and edits. Sometimes you have to let the action scenes play out. Then again, Burton’s action scenes weren’t that outstanding either.

Nolan seems to really like the street chases a bit, because this is where he seems to have improved a great deal since the last film. The street chase between Batman and the Joker is probably one of the best scenes in the movie, if not the best. The use of CGI, on-set FX and sound effects makes it a fun scene to watch.

Overall

Despite the trouble with little children and babies in the theater, I still really enjoyed the movie deeply. While the running time is a bit too long for even me, I can understand why Nolan wanted a longer movie. He wanted to fully explore all the themes to the fullest and that’s understandable.

Nolan and the writers should be commended for giving Batman a completely dark movie, but not enough to make us want to commit suicide like Batman Returns. Even with its dark story, there is a glimmer of hope.

With a strong story that doesn’t pull any punches, it feels like WB let Nolan do the movie he wanted with no interference. This movie has washed the bad taste of Batman Returns and Batman & Robin out our collective mouths.

While I wouldn’t call The Dark Knight epic, I’d call it one of the best Batman movies ever. (Then again, I feel Batman Begins and the Dark Knight are one movie.) It is also right up there with the old Superman movie as far as superhero movies go. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next time.

Grade A-