The Dark Knight (Action/Thriller, 152 minutes
The Dark Knight (Action/Thriller, 152 minutes. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman. Written by Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan. Directed by Christopher Nolan. In English with Indonesian subtitles. Playing at 21 Cineplex and Blitz Megaplex)
Bruce Wayne (Bale) has established his secret life as Batman but is not yet sure how far he'll have to go as Gotham City's vigilante savior.
Enter the Joker (Ledger), a diabolical mastermind who "just wants to watch the world burn". Batman and allies -- including idealistic DA Harvey Dent (Eckhart), Lieutenant Gordon (Oldman), and former love Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal) -- react to the Joker in a series of escalating scenarios.
This ambitious script depicts a world in which doing the right thing might mean lying or using violence.
But this is not gratuitous violence, it's necessary to the story being told. Themes are occasionally overstated and the running time could have been cut but with a plot that moves in all sorts of unexpected directions, The Dark Knight is never dull.
Michael Caine doesn't have much screen time as the butler, Alfred, but he's the glue holding it all together. Bale, as in the previous film, inhabits the suit with gravity and conviction.
Meanwhile, it's a testament to Ledger's talents that he can make us laugh when we have every reason to fear the Joker. Above all, this character is a transgressor, and you get the sense that Ledger relished his playfulness and rebellious spirit.
**** (out of *****)
-- Briony Kidd
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