The Dark Knight (www.the-usher.com)

"Why so serious?"

A year after the Batman (Bale) appeared on the streets of Gotham, the criminal underworld is on the back foot and finally the citizens of Gotham have more confidence in police and elected officials. Leading the charge against organised crime, Lt. James Gordon (Oldman) and newly appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) are starting to make waves, making Bruce Wayne finally think that his symbol for justice might not be needed for much longer. The problem is that with Batman bringing out the best in good people he can also attract the seriously bad and that comes in the shape of The Joker (Ledger), a sadistic madman who offers a solution to the crimes bosses of Gotham, kill the Batman.

Batman returns to the big screen but can the second big screen adventure under the direction of Christopher Nolan set not just a new standard for comic book adaptations but for the blockbuster movie?

When 'Batman Begins' was released in 2005, it was hailed as the first time moviegoers had seen a true representation of Bruce Wayne and costumed alter ego. This was a movie that concentrated on Wayne and the Batman, showing the creation of the superhero and his journey to becoming the masked protector of Gotham City. Where this was different to Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's version of the Caped Crusader is that Batman was the focal point and the villains were not all consuming, dominating the movie playing caricatures of the big name actors and actresses that wear playing them. Nolan stayed clear of Batman's most famous enemies, choosing Ra's Al Ghul and The Scarecrow but at the end of film he showed his card for who was coming in the inevitable sequel and he was the biggest Batman villain of them all.

When Lt. James Gordon handed Batman a playing card, every fan knew that the villain for 'The Dark Knight' would be the Caped Crusader's true nemesis, The Joker. With Cesar Romero setting the standard in the classic TV show, Jack Nicholson playing Jack Nicholson in a Joker outfit in Tim Burton's 'Batman' in 1989 and 'Star Wars' legend Mark Hamill providing the voice to the fans favourite incarnation of the Clown Prince of Gotham in 'Batman: The Animated Series', whoever was cast in the role for Nolan's second movie who have hard acts to follow. When it was announced that Heath Ledger has won the role, a few eyebrows were raised but the actor who had raised his profile with an Oscar nominated performance in 'Brokeback Mountain' and critically acclaimed performances in 'Monster's Ball' and 'Ned Kelly', was no stranger to blockbuster movies after starring in 'A Knight's Tale', 'The Patriot' and '10 Things I Hate About You'. Tragically his untimely death in January 2008 brought even more attention to the performance and the film but fortunately this is a role that Heath Ledger has redefined and sets a new standard for big screen villainy.

The Joker is one of the great villains in comic book history. He represents the worst that people can be, with no superpowers it is his madness and his total disregard for anything that makes him such a complicated but mesmerising villains. You could never predict what he was going to do, as he had no limitations, to self-rules to pull him in, meaning people will die when the Joker was involved. Christopher Nolan and his co-writers David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan understand this completely and have written a story that finally shows what a true villain the Joker can really be. It is Heath Ledger's performance as the Clown Prince of Gotham that pushes this excellent piece of character realisation to a new level. You have never seen a screen villain like this before, a man with no background, no history who walks into a city and causes complete chaos. The clown makeup and theatrical look aside, inside there is a total disregard for the law and human morels and a willingness to push anyone to their extremes. In his sights is the Batman and his latest fellow crime fighter District Attorney Harvey Dent and the three of them will face of with devastating effect. Ledger must have been complete consumed by the role, transforming himself into the perfect incarnation of pure evil, with a sadistic sense of humour. This is a stunning performance and one that will not only set the standard for comic book villains but for villains in any movie.

The movie isn't just about the performance of Heath Ledger however, as it could have so easily have been. This is an ensemble piece with each of the major cast members having their role to play, however minor their screen time. Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman as a more confident crime fighter, one that thinks that the point when Gotham no longer needs the Batman is coming. Bale grows in the role, as the Caped Crusader realised that because he has changed the goal posts in the fight against crime, this would attract a new class of criminal, one without rules or morals in the Joker. The British actor has really made the role his own and he is now the face you envisage when you think of Batman. Joining the cast is the fabulous Aaron Eckhart as Gotham's White Knight and the man who could make the need for Batman obsolete, new District Attorney Harvey Dent. Any fan of the Dark Knight will know that Dent is destined for a fall from grace but it is the way that the actor and Nolan's creative team handle this that makes it have such a powerful impact on the plot. The trio of good is made complete by Lt. James Gordon, played again by Gary Oldman, and Gordon has a lot to do now with the bringing down of organised crime in Gotham. Michael Caine returns as Bruce Wayne's conscience butler Alfred Pennyworth and Morgan Freeman has much more to do as the head of Wayne Industries and Batman's 'toy' supplier Lucius Fox. Maggie Gyllenhaal comes in to replace Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, bringing a little more to role of the passionate assistant district attorney, who has the heart of Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent.

'The Dark Knight' is simply stunning and is by far the best comic book movie every made. It is much more than a comic book adaptation however, it is an excellent movie in its own right redefining how we should gauge a summer blockbuster. While it riddled with stunning action sequences that utilises more real stunt work than CGI, it is the story that makes 'The Dark Knight' standout from the usual summer blockbuster and it sets the standard for everything else to follow. Why so serious? Just because it is a comic book movie doesn't mean to say that you shouldn't take the source material seriously and Christopher Nolan and his creative team have now set a very high benchmark.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:35 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The pristine picture and glorious sound highlight the astonishing visuals and performances from one of the best comic book movies ever made.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Focus Points (1hr 4.10 mins/High Definition)
Entitled 'The Prologue', 'The New Bat Suit', 'Joker theme', 'Hong Kong Jump', 'Judge's car blows up', 'Challenges of the chase in IMAX', 'SWAT van into the river', 'Miniature unit', 'Destruction of the Batmobile', 'Bat-Pod', 'Helicopter crash', 'Truck flip', 'MCV Explosion', 'Lamborghini crash', 'Hospital explosion', 'Mob car flip', 'String of sausages' and 'Upping the Ante', you can watch these featurettes on there own, as one behind scenes documentary or during the movie. With contributions from director Christopher Nolan, this creative team and the cast, this is a very different way of providing a commentary for the biggest movie of 2008.

Disc 2

Batman Tech (45.59/High Definition)
Director Christopher Nolan, producers Charles Roven and Emma Thomas are joined by the cast and crew of 'The Dark Knight' to talk about the technology that Batman uses to fight crime and how it is based on real military technology that the armed forces have developed.

Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight (46.02 mins/High Definition)
Psychologists join the cast and crew of 'The Dark Knight' to talk about the mental state of Batman/Bruce Wayne and how bats, his own mentality and the villains have changed his life completely.

Gotham Tonight (46.41 mins/High Definition)
Entitled 'Election Night', 'Billionaire with a cause', 'Escalation', 'Top Cop', 'Cops and Mobsters' and 'Gotham's White Knight', these are the viral advertising news reports that appeared on the official website and YouTube during the build up to the film's cinematic release. Presented by fictional news presenters Mike Engel and Lydia, the special news reports covered the main characters of the film and interviews with some of the key players in the film including new district attorney Harvey Dent.

The Galleries
View the designs for the 'Joker Cards', 'concept art', 'poster art' and 'production stills'. Trailers and More View the four cinema trailers and the six TV spots that promoted the movie before its release.

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment of 'The Dark Knight' is a bit of a mixed bag. The 'Focus Points' function is good but not as good as a production diary and a commentary. The two documentaries are a little too over produced with an extremely annoying voice over for both. The Gotham Tonight spots are excellent in HD however and well worth watching, even if you saw them on the internet. Fans will be pleased but after the Blu-Ray version of 'Batman Begins', some maybe a little disappointed.

BLU-RAY

Batman Begins

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2008