Release Date: July 18, 2008
Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and some menace)
Genre: Action, Crime, Sequel
Run Time: 152 min.
Director: Chris Nolan
Actors: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman

“Some men can’t be bullied or negotiated with,” Alfred the butler (Michael Caine) says to Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) in the summer’s most anticipated movie, The Dark Knight. “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

It’s a troubling truth—one of many expressed in this newest film in the Batman franchise, which shows the impact such men have on Gotham City and the limited power of those who want to change things for the better.

For fans of the Batman franchise, this sequel to Batman Begins (which restarted the franchise in 2005) turns out to have been worth the wait. Grim and morally complex, The Dark Knight not only explores the dark side of human nature but draws potent parallels with the current war on terrorism, leaving viewers to wrestle with questions of how to respond to injustice.

Bruce Wayne wants to rid Gotham City of mob influence, but the mob has problems of its own. Not only is prosecutor Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) working hard to bring them down, but a villain named the Joker (Heath Ledger) has infiltrated the local crime ring and easily beaten back a collection of impotent Batman impersonators who see the caped crusader as a “symbol of good” and try to copy his behavior. His merciless methods belie the ever-present smile upon his face, and the local police, led by Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), can’t find a way to stop his deadly assault upon the city. The Joker’s demand, made through multiple televised torture tapes, is that Batman reveal his true identity.

The Joker’s demented visage—he has white makeup and permanent smile—provide all we need to know for the reasons behind his rage. Director Chris Nolan defies any audience demand for an official explanation of the Joker’s malevolence by giving Ledger a couple of contradictory speeches about why he is the way he is. The Joker’s murky motivations matter little—he must be confronted and stopped before “everything burns,” as he says late in the film. He spreads terror through the use of the media—the videos he makes to alarm the citizens of Gotham are uneasy reminders of the hostage videos seen on the nightly news, while his confidence in carrying out his plans is so great that he places obituaries in the newspaper before killing his victims. The tactics create helplessness and fear among the citizens, who turn on the authorities before turning on each other.