Joker is the talk of Hollywood right now with the film giving fans a dark and grounded look at the classic DC villain. However, a movie like Joker might never have been possible if it wasn’t for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight.
After reinventing the Batman story for the big screen in Batman Begins, Nolan and company raised the bar, creating a comic book film that plays out like a sweeping crime epic. The movie is considered by many to be the best comic book film of all time, but like any movie, some aspects have aged better than others. Here are some of the ways The Dark Knight has aged poorly and some ways it remains timeless.
Aged Poorly: Nurse Mask
Part of the brilliance of the Joker character in The Dark Knight is how unpredictable he is. It’s hard to say when one of his confrontations will turn deadly or not. One of the tensest scenes is his face-to-face with Harvey Dent after Dent’s fiancé is murdered and he is left disfigured.
However, the scene is also unintentionally funny given Joker’s disguise as a hospital nurse. While the idea that Joker would purposely wear such a ridiculous and unconvincing costume fits his character, the fact that the disguise seems to fool Dent for a moment is laughable.
Timeless: Opening Heist
The Dark Knight establishes itself as a huge crime epic in its very first scene. Though it might seem like something out of place in a Batman movie, the amazing heist sequence helps set the energetic and chaotic tone of the film.
As a group of thieves in clown masks stage a daring robbery, they gradually begin picking each other off as ordered by their boss, Joker. When one man is left standing, he takes off his mask giving us one of the most memorable introductions to a film villain in history.
Aged Poorly: Fight Scenes
Nolan has proven himself to be an excellent director of action sequences, but when it comes to the fight scenes in The Dark Knight, he seems to have struggled a bit. Batman Begins was criticized for the excessive use of shaky cam in the fights. Nolan keeps the camera still in the sequel but the results aren’t too thrilling.
A large problem could be the cumbersome Batman costume. In his fights, Batman just moves rather awkwardly and lurching, not really looking like the trained ninja we know him to be.
Timeless: Car Chase
While the fight scenes in the film might be a bit of a letdown, Nolan makes up for it in some of the other amazing action sequences. The most memorable of them must be the incredible car chase when Joker attacks a police convoy.
The use of practical effects really sells the scene and makes it truly awesome. From Batman’s badass entrance, the bat-cycle and the stunning truck flip, this is possibly the best action scene in Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
Aged Poorly: Batman Voice
For many fans, Christian Bale is the best cinematic Batman we’ve gotten so far. His performance is dark, layered and complex. He really sells the idea that Batman is Bruce Wayne’s true self while the billionaire playboy is his real disguise. But there is one glaring aspect of his performance that’s hard to overlook.
When in his Batman persona, Bale uses a deep and raspy voice that is truly distracting. It is an interesting choice for the actor, but it really gets in the way in key scenes. With all the parodies over the years, it’s only become more difficult to take it seriously.
Timeless: The Theme
There have been some fun and entertaining Batman films in the past, but none as thoughtful as The Dark Knight. As memorable as certain scenes are, it’s impossible not to leave the movie without thinking on its message of “You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
It is a compelling thought that Bruce Wayne is confronted in the film, one that leads him to make some significant choices. It has stirred discussion outside of the film and remains a powerful quote to this day.
Aged Poorly: Two-Face
Though Joker clearly steals the show, The Dark Knight also introduced another of Batman’s most popular enemies. Two-Face is the villainous alter-ego of Harvey Dent after having his face brutally scarred. We had seen the character brought to the big screen in campy fashion for Batman Forever, but this was the chance to have a grounded and dark version of the character.
Sadly, we don’t get to spend too much time with him as a villain. Though Dent is a compelling character for much of the movie, his transition is extremely quick and then he is killed off very quickly. The character just doesn’t have the impact fans her hoping for.
Timeless Poorly: Ending
It seems standard practice for most comic book movies these days to wrap things up while teasing what’s to come. While there was indeed a sequel to The Dark Knight, this film’s ending felt like it could be the end of the story.
Batman decides to present himself as the villain of Gotham so the city can be saved. As he flees the police, Commissioner Gordon gives a moving, satisfying and epic narration. It is a moment that helps to define the character of Batman, his mission and why he is a true hero.
Aged Poorly: Violence
Though The Dark Knight is not an R-rated comic book film like we’ve seen more commonly these days, it’s still quite grim and violent for the genre. Most of that comes from Joker who feels like a terrorist on the loose in Gotham, piling up a massive body count.
Though a film should certainly be free to depict violence if that is the story they are telling, the violence of The Dark Knight might not sit well with some viewers in this climate. Seeing Joker gun down police officers in cold-blood is pretty shocking and hard to watch even all these years later.
Timeless: Heath Ledger’s Joker
The announcement that Heath Ledger would play Joker in The Dark Knight was not well received by fans at the time. Now that seems very hard to imagine as his performance was universally lauded by audiences and critics everywhere.
The anarchist, ambiguous take on the villain was terrifying and exciting. Ledger completely transformed in the role, becoming unrecognizable. Though Joaquin Phoenix is receiving plenty of praise for his take on the character, nothing can take away the performance Ledger created. The fact that he passed away before the film was released only makes it that much more mesmerizing.
