Dark Knight Movie Review

Is the Batman we all know, the real Batman? In the Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan captures something new in Batman. He blends the crime drama and tragedy of most superhero movies with both a pessimistic and optimistic view of society. He does this through three key characters. The first is Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s butler, the second is the Joker, the cold hearted terrorist who brings out the worst in people, and the third is Harvey Dent, Gotham’s new District Attorney. Through these three characters he exemplifies both the worst and the best in human nature, from the most incorruptible, to the most corrupt.
The first key character in the movie is Alfred. Alfred serves in both this movie and the first movie, Batman Begins, as Bruce’s mentor and helper. He is one of the three people who know Batman’s true identity, the others being Rachel Dawes and Luscious Fox. As his butler, he knows Bruce the best, and as so, counsels him as to how Batman should act in times of dilemma. In this movie in particular, he relates to Bruce by explaining him what the Joker’s criminal morals are from previous experiences with similar men. As Alfred explains the Joker to Bruce, he recognizes what he has to become to stop men like him.
The second of the three essential characters is The Joker. His berserk attitude and inclination towards destruction define him as the reckless clown that he is. He’s like no other criminal in the city in that he doesn’t care about money, drugs, or anything else a mob member would want. When Alfred describes this type of man to Bruce, he sums it up in this short description, “Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” All throughout the movie, the Joker tries time and time again to attack the core of the human heart, under the belief that everyone is as corrupt as him.
The role of the Joker is imperative to understanding the optimistic side of humanity that is portrayed in the end of the film. When the Joker makes massive threats against the people of Gotham city, they flee off the island in ferries, however the Joker expected this and prepared. Him and his men rigged both ferries with oil drum bombs, and gave each boat the other boat detonator. The Joker naturally expected a big boom early on, but much to his surprise, neither boat detonated each other, and the Joker had underestimated the corruption of humanity.
The third and final important character is Harvey Dent, also known as Gotham City’s “White Knight.” As Gotham’s DA, he has cleaned up nearly half of the criminals on the streets from the time he took office, and has done it without hiding behind a mask, unlike the batman. When discussing Batman at a dinner, Harvey said, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” This struck Bruce and he came to realize that Gotham no longer needed Batman. Because of his favor with the public, and the need for another hero to replace Batman, Bruce feels an enormous amount of pressure on himself to make the decision which would either end or carry on batman’s duties. This is resolved however after an unfortunate turn of events in which either Harvey or Rachel must die. Batman chose’s so save Harvey, but because of an explosion, Harvey is left with half a face and Rachel dead. After mourning for Rachel, and re-examining Batman’s purpose, Alfred convinces Bruce not to give up batman, as they needed him especially at a time like this.
Moreover, Harvey Dent is also a vital character in understanding the pessimistic turn of the movie. While in the hospital, with half his face burned off, the Joker speaks to him and persuades him into upsetting the established order. Because of the loss of Rachel, Harvey’s close girl-friend, Dent is very unstable and pursues the Joker’s proposition. Later in the movie, out of hatred of those who chose his life over Rachel’s, he reproduced the terrible effect of losing a loved one to police commissioner Gordon, only this time batman stopped him in the nick of time. Harvey, in this way has demonstrated what the Joker seeks to bring out in everyone. He took Gotham’s “White Knight,” and turned him into two-face, a man of destructive morals similar to those of Joker.
However, there is a final resolution to the whole movie in the last scene, which takes place at the building where Harvey threatens Gordon’s family. Batman stopped Harvey from harming Gordon’s family by pushing him off a ledge. Gordon rushes over to the ledge where Batman, Harvey, and Gordon’s son fell off, and finds Batman hanging on with one arm gripping a wood hold, and one holding onto Gordon’s son. Dent, however had fallen to his death. As Commissioner Gordon and batman contemplate the death of Dent, they resolve not to tell the public, for fear of his work being un-done, and because of his memorable quote, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
Batman’s decisions throughout the movie seem very linked and consistent with this quote. For example, he seriously considers turning himself in, because of the quote. Again, at the end of the movie, his decision is based off this prediction. Because the public will not know about Dent’s fall, he becomes the hero that Gotham needs, but not deserves. On the other hand, batman feels as though the hero spot has been “filled” by Harvey, and says he’ll be “whatever Gotham needs me to be.” As Batman flees the scene, being chased by police dogs, Gordon’s son climbs down the stairs to meet his father. As he sees Batman running he asks, “Why is he running Dad?” His father answers, “Because we have to chase him. Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian. A watchful protector. A Dark Knight.”