MOVIE REVIEW: THE DARK KNIGHT

There are very few movies made in this world, which have to be experienced. No matter how much I write and advertise (without being paid, of course :-( ), I still won't be able to express all that I saw in those 2 hours and 30 minutes of its running time, into words. I, for the first time in my life, have felt so short on vocabulary, that I would be guilty of using hackneyed phrases throughout this review.

The only movie possibly made which would fit into the above description is (personal opinion) The Lord of the Rings: Return of the king. But, it's time to add another name to the list. Put your hands together for a masterpiece of a movie, which marries technique with style, attitude with the darkness of human psychology, and super-entertainment with a solid story: The Dark Knight.However, what sets TDK far ahead of LOTR- ROTK is that the impact of the trilogy is somehow rolled into one motion picture.

Let's not get into the storyline, because you can find that on imdb.com . Let's get straight into the technicalities:

Hail the emergence of a director, story and screenwriter par excellence, the perfect heir to the throne of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who goes by the name Christopher Nolan. I have to admit here that this is my first Nolan flick.... I haven't seen any of his movies, including Batman Begins, which itself is said to be a great film, so for me, he is a debutant. And does he impress me or what!!

I have seen the 3 parts of Spiderman series, directed by Sam Raimi. They were highly entertaining to say the least. But still, you know for a fact that everything shown on that 70mm screen is make-believe...total farce, somewhat similar to a roller-coaster ride-- high adrenaline-pumping action, some dollops of romantic moments and a smattering of emotions and voila... u get a summer blockbuster!! Total masala fare, as we put it.

But what happens with TDK is at a much deeper level. The story is make-believe all right, but still, one part of you doesn't think this is all farce... one-part of you believes this can happen, or this may happen, or this is happening, and this is where you know this is much more than pure masala entertainment. It addresses fears and insecurities deep down in human psychology, the dark and the evil streak in each one of us, which we conceal skillfully in our everyday dealings with people. We are made to believe that all we need is that trigger, that spark, that initiation to let loose our evil sides..... and you don't have to be blessed with super powers to do that. How an ordinary man, gets into the psyche of every person in Gotham City, including Batman himself, and then unleashes terror on the entire city, forms the storyline. You can fight villains, freaks with super-powers, cyborgs, machines...... how can you fight with your own mind??

All you can do is just salute the genius of Nolan, who has turned this comic-book hero franchise on its head, and lent a certain degree of gravity to the protagonist and has made him more human. Truly Exceptional!!!

Christian Bale ,as the Batman, is very good. He exudes a certain degree of flair, sophistication and charisma, which a character like Bruce Wayne deserves. He is equally effective as the Batman. The battles, both physical and mental, are excellently portrayed by this fine actor.

Aaron Eckhart, who plays the role of Harvey Dent, is also very good and likeable, in both his roles, especially in the role of Two-Face.... he enhances the effect that the antagonist has on people, being absolutely misguided and brainwashed, and on his path of self-destruction, punishing everybody who he thinks has wronged him.

Among other actors, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhal and Michael Caine are adequate for their parts. Gary Oldman is very dependable in his portrayal.

The action sequences are FANTASTIC to say the least, but you kind of expect that kind of action from a Hollywood film, that too, if its a super-hero flick. Still, your heart threatens to jump out of your chest at the very sight of those scenes, especially the one big sequence before the interval.

And last, and dare I call it the least!!, the most towering performance by any actor worth his salt in the entire history of world cinema. You really are forced to stand on your seats and with outstretched hands, celebrate the performance of a lifetime by an actor, who would have catapulted straight, not into super-stardom, but into the status of an acting legend, had he been alive today. Heath Ledger!!! YOU ARE IMMORTALISED in the role of the Joker!! and my sympathies with the actor who dares to take on this role, ever in future. To say that Ledger delivers a knockout performance is demeaning his rendition of the Joker as it is one thing to perform a role and another to LIVE a role. If you roll every negative emotion present in this world...... anger, sadness,jealousy, betrayal, revenge..... and create a man out of it with all the insanity present in this world, he still wouldn't match up to the devil called Joker. A character so sinister, diabolical and infernal, he is Satan incarnate. And you know what?? you celebrate his antics, his confident moves towards aimlessness.... he doesn't want money or power, all he seeks is sadistic gratification, his efforts to satisfy the insatiable hunger for terror. So much so that Batman seems like a side-kick to him, and you are on Joker's side. Such is the impact!!!! I have nothing else left to say, so I'll quote a fan who said: " The Joker played the role of Heath Ledger extremely well in real life, but in TDK he attained nirvana". SIMPLY STUPENDOUS!!!

All in all, a request from the bottom of my heart: DO NOT COMMIT THE SIN OF GIVING THIS MOVIE A MISS!!!....and PLEASE watch it in the cinema hall (preferably an IMAX screen)... watching it live and streaming over the Internet will kill the movie and the experience.


My Rating: ***** (SIMPLY FANTABULOUS!!)