The Plot and Idea of the Dark Knight

This sample essay on The Dark Knight Essay provides important aspects of the issue and arguments for and against as well as the needed facts. Read on this essay’s introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

What comes to mind when you hear the word Batman? A dark figure looming in Gotham’s alleys? Adam West and Burt Ward ‘ Whamming’ and ‘Powing’ their enemies? Or possibly one of the greatest films of the decade?

It’s fair to say that since the 70s,the original comic character Batman has changed( maybe develop this point), reincarnated with many different looks, and the outcome in my opinion is too camp or too dark.

In his latest film, the director Christopher Nolan, seems to have the balance just right in The Dark Knight.( try to vary the opening of sentences) The film starts as a heist movie, a bank raid masterminded by the Joker (Heath Ledger), which is apposite as Heath Ledger steals every scene that he’s in.

Christian Bale also does a great performance (can you improve expression here)as Batman/ Bruce Wayne. However it seems that one of the reasons for Heath Ledger being hailed as the star is the contrast between the Joker and Batman that he brings to the role. Batman is very dark and serious (some might say, boring) and in a way that makes him boring; the Joker however is just insane, with his purple suit and constantly changing stories about how he got his scars. (Amoral and psychopathic, he explains ) and he evens mentions in the film how he will just commit homicide for no reason at all and that he just ‘does things’.

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He is, in terms of the 9/11 analogy, not just a terrorist but worse, an anarchist who just kills and destroys for fun. He is very creepy and completely mesmerising.

The Dark Knight Movie

The film also features Harvey Dent played wonderfully by Aaron Eckhart who is Gotham’s clean-cut DA who believes in justice and makes a stand against the mob and corruption; surprisingly enough there are a lot of attempts to kill him by the Joker. There is a (The clich�d love triangle……is guaranteed to win approval from sections of the audience…) love triangle in the film between Batman, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhall) and Harvey Dent. Rachel is Bruce’s oldest friend and she knows that he is Batman, but she feels that Gotham will always need Batman and so that is why she chooses Harvey over Bruce. (comment on her moral stance. Is it convincing?)

Gary Oldman (stars in the film) delete? as Jim Gordon, head of Gotham police department, clashes with Harvey Dent as they both have different ways of handling criminals. Jim Gordon is literally law and Harvey Dent is literally Order.

The Dark Knight is a Batman morality tale turned up to 11- exploring the nature and corruption of power, the organization of society in crisis, individual freedom versus collective security, and (most interestingly of all), its allusions to the Roman Empire. If Harvey Dent is a Caesar figure, then the Joker is Caligula. ( The semi-colon is not used to introduce a list. It allows you to add a new sentence related to your first without separation by a full stop.)

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine are also in the film (it really is a star studded cast), Michael Caine plays Alfred Bruce’s Butler, best friend and assistant. ( The inclusion of Michael Caine alongside Morgan Freeman in this ‘star studded’ cast allows Hollywood to emphasise Alfred’s Englishness. One of the greatest British actors of the last thirty years, his iconic London accent will surely intrigue an American audience)It seems that Hollywood really wanted to emphasize that Alfred was English and so they chose one of the greatest actors of all time with a very thick London accent, (in case you’re wondering Danny Dyer was not second choice for the role), he is probably the best Alfred compared to other actors who have taken on the role before.(if this is your opinion then be more assertive. Reviewers generally are.) Morgan Freeman plays (as)Lucius (avoid repetition of verbs like plays)Fox the man who essentially runs Wayne Enterprises and is one of Bruce’s many friends; he also has the very exciting job that all boys dream of being (doing/achieving) when they are grown up: the creator of Batman’s gadgets and weapons.

The film explores many themes: batman represents hope; he is incorruptible. Harvey Dent symbolises fate or chance…….; Rachel symbolises ‘love’ as all the males fall for her and loyalty is …..

The film (explores)(has) many themes( in it) and it is almost as if with each character representing represents on of those themes, Batman for hope, as he is incorruptible; Harvey Dent for chance, as he carries around a coin with him to help him make decisions; Rachel for love as it seems Batman, Harvey Dent and even the Joker have all taken a fall for her; Alfred stands for loyalty as he has served Bruce Wayne since he was a child and raised him when his parents were dead; the world would be a much better place if everyone were like Alfred!

The special effects in the film are very impressive. One of the more breath taking examples is Two Face who is half man, half burns. Half of his face is that of Harvey Dent, the other half is severe burns. This signifies goes with the 50:50, chance, ‘ toss a coin’ theme of Harvey Dent; in fact Two Face uses the same coin to decide whether to kill someone or not.

There is also a contrast made between Harvey Dent and Batman as they are both fighting the same enemy, Harvey Dent does this in court and Batman does this in the streets. However Batman is less a person, more an idea of the upholding of the law. ( This used to be fine but) delete? Christopher Nolan suggests that the citizens are restless and the heroes need to come from within society not those conspicuously outside it, (9/11 heroes were the firemen and police officers of New York), and in fact the film is full of images that mirror the havoc after 9/11.

One other contrast made in the film is that between the Joker and Batman; at first you may think that they are total opposites but then you find that actually they are both similar. They are outcasts, freaks as the Joker says (in the film) to Batman “When they don’t need you any more they’ll hunt you down”. In addition Bruce Wayne and Batman are total opposites; Batman is a vigilante who dedicates his life to fighting for good, and Bruce Wayne on the other hand is a wooden, envious, charisma free pompous businessman.

The Dark Knight is more of a hero movie than a superhero movie, as in it is far more realistic; Batman can’t fly or shoot web out of his hands but he can make things explode! But this isn’t just (can you improve expression here) with the Dark Knight. Batman has always been an outcast to over ? superheroes as there is in fact nothing super about him; he is just up to his neck in gadgets. If all the superheroes went to school together Batman would be the one sitting alone at lunch, while Spiderman and Superman sat at the table with the “popular kids”. Also other films released recently have had a big (significant) effect on how it was directed, for example the action in Bourne films are (is) very similar to the action in the Dark Knight,( but it is not a bad thing.. can you improve expression here) it is not uncommon to hear a gasp while you are watching the scene where a Juggernaut does a front flip or where a whole building is blown up.

The question of individual freedom versus collective security (a question thrown up by 9/11) is brought into case, when BatmanBruce Wayne invents a device which can monitor everyone in the city using their phones. It was created with the intent of finding the Joker and stopping him from claiming anymore lives; the only person who can operate it however is Lucius Fox, who feels that there is something morally wrong with it. He chooses to use it only once and then he makes Batman promise to destroy it; he agrees. This is also (reminiscent of ancient Rome)similar to the Caesar idea. When the enemies were at their gates, the Romans would choose one man to have power over them so that they could defeat their enemies; they had to give up freedom and democracy to survive and when the battle was won that one man would go back to his previous position. However the last man that the Romans chose used the power they had given him to rule over them. His name was Caesar. This was what Lucius was worried would happen to Batman if he kept that device. A phrase, which is often used in the film, is ” You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.

In fifty years time, there will have been countless incarnations of Batman. Some will be good some will be bad, some will feature Robin, some without him; we’ll see familiar faces of villains and we’ll also see some new evildoers. But one thing is certain! (about these films. delete?) None will be as good as The Dark Knight.