Batman The Dark Knight is a masterpiece

I was looking at the different showings at the cinema I usually go to. While no new movies caught my eye, something else did. On this day (20/09/2025) they had the Dark Knight trilogy showing, back-to-back. As enticing as it was do a marathon of the trilogy in the cinema, I decided to go and watch one of them. Batman The Dark Knight can probably be considered the OG best superhero movie of all time. While there were good superhero movies before it, this movie showed the heights that these types of movies can reach. Even after all these years, whenever an excellent superhero movie comes it, it is often compared to The Dark Knight, though I’ve never been a fan of these comparisons. Although I used to rewatch it on a yearly basis, the last time I watched it must’ve been 10 years ago or more. Let’s talk about how it was watching this movie again in IMAX and why it’s a masterpiece.

From the very beginning, the bank heist of the movie is something that has been analysed in detail by a lot of people and described as the perfect opening. Apart from its historical importance, in that it was one of the first major sequences in a movie to be shot in IMAX, it brought to my attention an important element that will also be present throughout the movie; efficiency. There is not a single minute that is wasted in this movie. Every dialogue, shot, and sequence has its purpose and doesn’t last any longer than it needs to. With the bank heist, through a combination of show and tell, we are given a lot of information very quickly. We already know how the Joker is involved, how the bank belongs to the mob, and we see the twisted mind of the Joker at play as each member of the heist group is taken out. Even though I knew what was coming at the end of the bank heist, it still gave me goosebumps; the reveal of the Joker.

Over the years there have been many opinions regarding the best actor/actress in superhero movies. After the infinity saga, Robert Downey Jr. was cemented in a lot of people’s minds as the best. Here is my opinion, certain actors are definitely “born” for certain roles: Robert as Ironman, Hemsworth as Thor, Evans as Captain America. These are all good actors and did a fantastic job portraying their characters, but you cannot deny that they do sort of fit into the character. When it was announced that Heath Ledger was going to be the Joker in The Dark Knight, people were not happy with it. They could not see him as the Joker and thought that he was poorly cast. The rest is history. I think THAT is truly impressive and special, when an actor that initially seems ill-suited for the role absolutely blows it out of the park. That is an understatement for Heath’s performance as the Joker. I was reminded how truly this performance is in a league of its own; captivating, terrifying, and unpredictable. You know the expression “steal a scene”? There is no better example of that than the Joker in The Dark Knight. Every scene he is in, he makes it his own, and with so many good and memorable lines. After all these years I still remembered each sentence and word that was going to be said by the Joker. It’s more than what he says, Heath’s small mannerisms, movements of the tongue and head, his hands and fingers, body twitches, it all elevates this performance to something beyond. It is not just Heath’s performance though, the decisions regarding the makeup and the way he was dressed made him personify chaos. I’ll later get into how this personification is key to the story.

While Heath Ledger’s the Joker stole the show, to be honest, I was almost equally impressed by Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Not just by the performance by Aaron Eckhart, but the way he was written. In Christopher Nolan’s down-to-earth universe, how would they bring him to life? This character that is centred around duality and leaves his decisions to chance? They made it work. Not just those aspects of his character, but the transition from being the hope and saviour of Gotham to a villain and its potential downfall. Seeing his stance against organized crime, his concern regarding corruption in Gordon’s unit, his vision for a Gotham free of not just the mob, but the need for a masked vigilante, it is clear as day that he is meant to be the hero of Gotham. This is how he initially is, but as the movie goes on, he questions his decisions, sees how fruitless some of his actions are, how his advice and concern fall on deaf ears, all wrapped up by the biggest tragedy to him, the loss of the love of his life, Rachel. Perhaps this could be enough to push him over the edge, to make him abandon his ideals in pursuit of his own agenda, but I think there are two key pieces that bring it all together, that make his transition believable. First, the circumstances of Rachel’s death. It was a 50/50 chance whether she would survive or not, basically a coin flip. Prior to this he did say that he makes his own luck, but in this case it wasn’t him. The chance was taken for him, and while he got to live, he actually lost. Second, his discussion with the Joker. The Joker reminds Harvey that Rachel’s death was made possible due to the corruption in Gordon’s unit, and brings to Harvey’s attention that it was the mob that brought him into the equation to get rid of the Batman. The Joker continues to point out the absurdity of plans, how even if something is horrible but according to plan, nobody really cares, then throwing shade at Harvey and how he had plans for taking down the mob. Last but not least, the Joker completes the flip with the following sentence: “I’m an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair.” From this point on, we understand Two-face’s actions and his reliance on chance, because it is fair. Was he not a believer in justice and fairness from the beginning? This whole change of alliance and mentality was done so well, carried even further by Aaron’s performance, selling this character and his story all the way through.

While Heath and Aaron are the standouts in my opinion, let us not forget about the rest of the cast. While Christian Bale’s Batman is not my favourite, I cannot deny that he did a good job as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, and he fits in this world perfectly. Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox is spot-on as the sort of right-hand man of the Batman and the technician and engineer that helps with his plans, gadgets, suits, and so on. Michael Caine, in my opinion, is the perfect Alfred. Not only does he want what is best for Bruce, but he always shares wisdom when he can and advices him regarding matters that he knows best than Bruce. Especially after his performance in The Dark Knight Rises, I think Michael Cain’s version of Alfred is the best one ever. Gary Oldman as Jame Gordon is excellent as well. I think he brings a certain vulnerability to this character throughout the trilogy that makes him more endearing, a detective/commissioner that is just trying his best amidst the craziness around him. He especially get to shine in the finale of the movie, which I will talk about later. I haven’t seen Batman Begins in even a longer time, so I don’t remember Katie Holmes as Rachel or why she was replaced in the sequel, but Maggie Gyllenhaal played Rachel Dawes well in this movie and I have no complaints about her. The other actors/actresses did a good job overall as well.

I haven’t even started talking about the story. While perhaps it is the cast and their performances that are the most memorable of this movie, the story was central to the movie and is equally as important. The Dark Knight was the first superhero movie to go beyond its own genre. At its core, this movie is about the fight against organized crime and the liberation of a city from terror and fear. The mob are really the centre in a way, and so many decisions and choices go back to them. The movie starts with our heroes planning their move against the mob, and after a big blow to them, it is the mob that goes to the joker in desperation, Rachel and Harvey are taken because of the connections of the mob in Gordon’s unit, and the finale involves those apprehended by the Government and their potential release back into the streets. The mob and their presence is also tied to the city. While the mob definitely poses a physical threat to the civilians of Gotham, it perhaps poses a greater threat to the soul of the city. With the mob running the streets and corruption spreading through the government, how would the people of Gotham feel? How could they have hope for a better future? Knowing that the mob is in control of the city and not them, how could they not lose morale? How could they be happy? Even the Joker addresses this, that the battle between him and the Batman is for the soul of Gotham, not just the lives of some of its people. The Joker fits into this story because he is a wild card. Batman, Harvey and Gordon are trying to bring order to the city, instead, due to their actions and the involvement of the Joker, the city plunges into chaos. Batman, someone who is always in control because of his planning, strength, and gadgets, finds himself at a disadvantage during the interrogation scene. During the chaos, the Joker has gained the upper hand, and Batman is powerless to do anything about it. It is this chaos that puts to the test not just Batman and his rules, but the soul of the city. The Joker believes that chaos bring out the worst in people, when the laws are not there. The physical fight between Batman and Joker doesn’t technically end with Batman’s win, it ends with the triumph of the good in people. The Joker is beaten because he is shown that the people have not lost their humanity. I can’t remember who but someone put it really well: “Gotham and its people are a character of their own in this story”. You can see how this type of story and its layers are beyond something that we associate with superhero movies.

All that said, this movie could not have turned out this way without those behind the camera. Christopher Nolan is perhaps my favourite director of all time, and it is with the Dark Knight that he came to my attention. With this movie he did so much more than direct. He wrote the script alongside his brother and David S. Goyer, and as he does with all his movie, he brings together not just an amazing cast, but a crew to help being to film to life, most of whom he has always worked with. I wanna talk about two people in particular: Wally Pfister and Hans Zimmer. Wally is the cinematographer in a lot of Christophers’ movies. In this movie, he is a big contributor to the dark and gritty feeling people associate with this movie. Furthermore, his use of IMAX cameras allowed some of the sequences and shot to include so much more in them, letting us take in the different elements of the composition. He also uses contrast very well, whether it be contrast between the light and the dark, or contrast between stable, steady shots and hectic, chaotic ones. That was the cinematography, now let’s talk music. I’ve got maybe just a handful of concerts, and one those was that of Hans Zimmer. That man’s legacy as a composer will not be forgotten. His work in the Dark Knight is no different than the rest of his work, stellar music that when you hear it you think of this movie. I want to focus on perhaps the most outstanding part of the whole music soundtrack of this movie, the motif associated with the Joker. Part of the reason that I admire music composers for movies and video games so much is that you are responsible for creating music that not will fit the scene or the movie, but that will embody the characters. Zimmer couldn’t have created a better sound to represent the Joker. The Joker’s motif consists of a a long bowing on an electric cello, a single pitch that while simple, is distorted to the point where it becomes uncomfortable to hear. This note is continuously intensified, with other distortions being added to as it goes on. This note encapsulates not just the intensity of the joker, but his unpredictable nature. The tension is always on the rise with him, and you never know what is going to happen or when is it going to happen.

I said how the opening of the movie is considered to be perfect and to exemplify the qualities of the entire movie, but to me, it is the finale that is absolutely mind-blowing. It is absolute perfection. From the moment we join Gordon as he finds his family and confronts Two-face, to the final shot that closes the movie, I have watched this sequence countless times on you tube. Let’s break it down to two pieces.

1. The confrontation. The acting put to display by everyone and the dialogue is peak cinema. Everything that is said and they way are delivered by the actors hits and hits hard, especially Two-face. His dialogue is written with precision. Honestly, I could write down every single of the dialogue during these sequences to demonstrate how good the writing and acting is. I have talked about how this movie is considered very dark, tonally, for a superheroes movie, and this scenes are the epitome of it, wrapped together by the score. Watch The World Burn, composed by Hans Zimmer alongside James Newton Howard, is perhaps one of the darkest most haunting scores of cinema I have ever heard. With it, this scene reeks of hopelessness and desperation. Maybe the joker is going to win after all.

2. The aftermath. A topic that has been explored throughout the movie has been that of the true meaning of a hero. The type of sacrifice that a hero must make when the time comes, the difficult decision, the right one. It all accumulates in the ending. With Harvey Dent corrupted, the white knight of Gotham is no more. All hope will be lost as the criminals put away by him and the others will be released and their efforts would’ve been for nothing. It is in this moment that Batman steps up, being a true hero by turning himself into the villain. Not just because he can take it, but because he is not the hero Gotham needs at that moment, Harvey is, and his image must not be corrupted, Joker cannot win. In contrast to the previous scene, hope again start to emerge, accompanied by a fitting soundtrack, A Dark Knight, as Batman rides into the light.

Watching this movie after all this time again was a treat. It really is timeless. While I think it is excellent, I wouldn’t necessarily compare it to the superhero movies we started getting with the MCU and DCEU. The Dark Knight is its own beast, untouchable. Something that similar to the Lord of the Rings, was a product of the perfect people working together at the perfect time. Regardless, I think it should be a reminder to fans as to the height a superhero movie can reach, a height that very few movies ever since have reached.