Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Warner Home Video – 153 minutes – 2008 – Rated PG-13 – 1080p – Both 2.35:1 and 1.78:1 IMAX aspect ratios – Dolby TrueHD 5.1 EX Audio Mix – Digital Copy

When Director Christopher Nolan re-invented Gotham City’s protector in the 2005 film Batman Begins, he finally got the bad taste out of Bat fans that was left by the previous George Clooney in a cape disaster, Batman & Robin. Finally there was a Batman film where the character was taken seriously and not camped into a day-glo package with nipples on the bat suit. The anticipation for the next film, and the icing on the cake being that is was to be titled The Dark Night, made fans drool in delight, but the choice of actor Heath Ledger playing the Joker didn’t sound right, so most just had a wait-and-see attitude. But then right after principle photography of the film something major happened, Heath Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose, and a whole new audience for the film was born Now everybody wanted to see the movie just to see what drove Ledger to such an unfortunate fate. To say that The Dark Knight was a success is an understatement, because not only did it win the praises of both critics and audiences, but it also made over $500 million dollars domestic and became the number two highest grossing film in U.S. history nearly sinking the mighty Titanic. For the 3 or 4 people left who haven’t seen the film and for those who can’t wait to own it, The Dark Knight is finally available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, and it’s one hell of a ride, as well as the most serious comic book film to date. Why so serious?

THE MOVIE

When we last left the caped crusader in Batman Begins, he had just let Gotham City’s underworld know that things were going to change, and he wasn’t taking any of their crap. The Dark Knight opens with a new villain on the scene calling himself The Joker (Heath Ledger), who gets off more on causing chaos than the actual crimes he does. Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), has his work cut out for him, going after lowlifes and masked vigilantes in cheap bat suits, but all this was a piece of cake compared to the what a guy wearing clown make-up has in store for him.

Several characters from Batman Begins return for this new adventure including, Michael Caine as Alfred, Bruce’s loyal caretaker, Gary Oldman as Gordon, the only good lawman in town, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Bruce’s right hand man at Wayne Enterprises, and his childhood love Rachel who is now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal (replacing Katie Holmes). Besides Heath Ledger as the Joker, one of the best additions to the casts is Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent, who will later become another threat to Batman when he becomes Two-Face.

Instead of describing details of the movie’s plot, the best way to review this movie is to focus on why it works where so many other comic book adaptations have failed. For one, Director Christopher Nolan sincerely wanted to make a good film and stick to his vision. Whereas other directors bend to the studio’s favor or just cut and paste to match the audience’s taste, The Dark Knight never shies away from making things complicated. Next actors who can actually “act” are in the roles, whereas most comic book flicks use the star of the moment, hoping that’s enough, The Dark Knight has so many solid actors, (several Academy Award winners and nominees) who make every word said and every situation that unfolds believable. Yes, Heath Ledger’s performance is excellent, but in my opinion Aaron Eckhart rules in this movie, delivering a complex performance that displays why his on his way to becoming an A-list star in Hollywood.

There is also no indication that you’re watching a comic book movie, with no over the top color schemes, or camera angles that try to emulate comic book panels. Instead the film is directed like a thriller that happens to feature a guy named Batman and some maniac clown. The Dark Night is aimed at adults who have the patience to see characters develop instead of things exploding every ten minutes and special effects thrown at them from every corner. Nolan’s past movies relied on the decision of the characters, rather than extraordinary situations, and both the Batman films he has directed follow this guideline.

Is The Dark Knight perfect? No. It is a long film and you feel it upon watching it a second time, and why did go to all that trouble to show the transition of Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face when the character is rubbed out before he’s even had the chance to do anything? Two-Face is a major Batman villain, so why didn’t they choose to continue his story in the third film? I kind of wished that the double-villain gimmick that was used o death in last decade’s Batman films wasn’t done here, because just having Batman focus on one villain at a time and building that character up and pitting them against one another would have been satisfying enough.

There is no question that The Dark Knight is not only one of the best comic book movies, but just a good movie in general. It has issues and is not flawless, but Nolan has crafted his vision in a way that all comic book adaptations from this point all will have to take note. There are even rumors of the Superman film franchise being updated to have a more darker adult feel, so already the fuse it lit. Everyone with a Blu-ray player will own this film, and Warner will make a fortune from it, just as it did with the theatrical release. Years from now, will The Dark Knight still capture the high praises it did this summer? Time will tell, but for now when a comic book based movie is mentioned people should ask, is it like The Dark Knight…or is it like Daredevil? Hopefully it won’t be the latter.

VIDEO

Now here’s the thing that may be appreciated by some, but bothered by others. Certain scenes for The Dark Knight were shot in the IMAX format (1.78:1) and the rest was shot in the standard widescreen ratio (2.40:1). What does this mean? Basically there will be scenes where you view the movie as you are normally accustomed to with the black bars at the bottom and top of the screen, but for specific scenes such as the opening bank robbery where The Joker is introduced, the image will expand to a full screen view eliminating the bars. It doesn’t happen every five minutes, but when the image flips from wide to full screen, and you’re not aware why, some may think they’re losing something and getting a cropped picture, but actually you’re getting more. As you would expect from an A+ title, Warner has spared no cost to ensure that you get the best possible image of the movie for your Blu-ray, and here they have succeeded. The Dark Knight looks incredible, making great use of the dark scenery and highlighting blacks and shadows. Skin tones look fantastic with so much detail that you can literally count every mole on Morgan Freeman’s face. This is as perfect as it gets and the use of the IMAX footage is the cherry on top.

AUDIO

With a blasting Doldy TrueHD 5.1 Surround audio mix, The Dar Knight is a must for sound enthusiasts whom are looking for a reason to show off their home theater system. Real world sounds are highlighted over the standard “Boom” and “Kapow” sound effects you expect from conventional comic book movies. Even sequences such as the car chase through the streets of Gotham goes more for a realistic feel rather than something exaggerated. Dialogue is crisp, allowing you to hear every mumbled word that Heath Ledger says, and just listen to the Bat-pod as it races down the streets making your subwoofer bounce. No complaints here, this is a top-notch mix.

EXTRAS

This Blu-ray contains three discs, one for the movie, one for the extras, and a third for the digital copy. Even though there is a good surplus of bonus goodies, you have to think that with a movie this successful can you imagine how many times Warner will dip into the well to have a special edition, then a deluxe edition, then an ultimate edition, then a God couldn’t pass this up edition. Trust me this will not be the only time you see this film coming out on Blu-ray.

On disc one along with the movie there is a feature called Focus Points that basically allows you to access behind the scenes footage when an icon appears on screen during the movie. This takes you out of the movie to show a quick clip and once it’s over the movie continues where you left off.

Disc two has all the main goodies starting with Batman Unmasked, which runs 45 minutes and is a collection of various interviews from experts in comic book history, law, and other theorists giving their views on who is Batman, and why does he do what he does.

Batman Tech also runs about 45 minutes and as the title says, it’s about all those wonderful toys Batman has access to, from his Batmobile (uh tank), to those cool Batarangs he’s always tossing around.

Gotham Tonight is an odd collection of newscasts letting you know what chaotic situations are going down in Gotham City and Batman’s exploits.

There are a variety of photos and concept art in the still galleries section. Most of this stuff has already been seen online or in one of the various Art of The Dark Knight books that are out there, but it’s worth seeing them again in high definition.

There are also a collection of the film’s trailers and TV spots for those who appreciate that, all obviously in glorious HD.

The third disc’s only purpose is to access a Digital Copy of the film that you can play on your portable player of choice.

It really sucks that there is no Director’s audio commentary, but when they release future versions of the Blu-ray/DVD (and they will), maybe it will be included then.

BOTTOM LINE

The Dark Knight was more than a film…it was an event. Cash registers will be singing when the movie is released and hopefully Warner will meet the demand and press as many Blu-rays as they can pump out. Christopher Nolan has raised the bar for the comic book movie, and everyone is anxiously waiting for the next Batman adventure, which has to prove, because The Dark Knight is a tough act to follow. Should you add this Blu-ray to your collection? Duh!!

SCORES (out of 5):

The Movie: 4.0

Video: 4.5

Sound: 5.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0