The lines became popular internet memes. With the help of Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox, Batman finds Lau in Hong Kong and returns him to the custody of Gotham police. Two-Face [218] The film has a score of 84 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 39 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [67], Describing his role as GCPD sergeant James Gordon, Oldman said Gordon is the "moral center" of The Dark Knight, an honest and incorruptible character struggling with the limits of his morality. Unbiased. [318] Although Batman holds to his morals and does not kill the Joker, he is forced to break his code by pushing Dent to his death to save an innocent person. Like Huntress, Damian Wayne has a complicated history in the comics, dating back to 1987's Batman: Son of the Demon (Mike W. Barr, Jerry Bingham, and John "[57] In a November 2007 interview, Ledger said when committing himself to any role, he had difficulty sleeping because he could not relax his mind, and often slept only two hours a night during filming. At the end of the day, I couldn't move. [66][147] Hemming designed Joker's overall appearance, which he based on fashion-and-music celebrities to create a modern and trendy look. Caglione Jr used a theatrical makeup technique for the application; he instructed Ledger to scrunch up his face so different cracks and textures were created once the makeup was applied and Ledger relaxed. [101][109] Filming in Chicago concluded on September 1, ending with scenes of Wayne driving and crashing his car, before the production returned to England. [be] The film has been referenced in a variety of media including television shows such as Robot Chicken, South Park, and The Simpsons. [2][25][26] Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, and Hannah Gunn portray Gordon's wife Barbara, his son James Jr., and his daughter, respectively. ($27.8million) and Hancock ($14million) in its third weekend. [e] Christopher and Goyer did not give their Joker an origin story or a narrative arc, believing it made the character scarier; Christopher described their film as the "rise of the Joker". [bp], The Dark Knight remains popular with audiences in publicly voted rankings. "[37], Although he was a fan of Batman (1989), starring Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Goyer did not consider Nicholson's portrayal scary and The Dark Knight's Joker to be an unknowable, already-formed character, similar to the shark in Jaws (1975), without a "clich" origin story. Top 10 Batman actors in the order they were casted Ben Affleck. [d] The GCPD cast includes Colin McFarlane as commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, Keith Szarabajka and Ron Dean as detectives Stephens and Wuertz, Monique Gabriela Curnen as rookie detective Anna Ramirez[2][21][22] and Philip Bulcock as Murphy. Dark Knight: The Actors Who Almost Played Batman In Nolan's This led people to a website where they could submit their e-mail addresses to reveal a pixel of a concealed Joker image; about 97,000 e-mail addresses and 20 hours were required to reveal the image in full, which was well-received. [156] It took several months to achieve Zimmer's desired result. [48][49][50] Because the new Batsuit allowed him to be more agile, Bale did not increase his muscle mass as much as he had for Batman Begins. Christopher said cameras that could be used on Mount Everest could be used for The Dark Knight, and had cinematographer Wally Pfister and his crew begin training to use the equipment in January 2007 to test its feasibility. Batman ", "Why So Seriously Good? [174], The Dark Knight was expected to sell well based on high audience anticipation, positive pre-release reviews, and a record $3.5million in IMAX pre-sales. [89] Filming moved to England throughout May, returning to Chicago in June. For other uses, see, Zimmer based Joker's theme around two notes that would become increasingly "agitated as the track progressed. The owners refused permission to film a stunt in which Batman suspends a SWAT team from the building, so this was filmed from the fortieth floor of a separate building site. [w] Christopher said no scenes were deleted because he believed every scene was essential, and that unnecessary material had been cut before filming. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to Batman Begins (2005) and the second installment in The Dark Knight Trilogy. The Batman (film) - Wikipedia Christian Bale plays Batman in The Dark Knight Rises SEAC For our money, Christian Bale remains the greatest Batman on the silver screen. Their efforts are derailed by the Joker, an anarchistic mastermind who seeks to test how far Batman will go to save the city from chaos. During the interrogation scene, Ledger asked Bale to actually hit him, and although he declined, Ledger cracked and dented the walls by throwing himself around. [156][157] Howard wrote about ten minutes of music for Dent, wanting to portray him as an American who represents hope, but undergoes an emotional extreme and moral corruption. We Ranked Them All, From The Dark Knight to the Batman", "Batman Movies Ranked From Worst To Best", "50 Best Movies Of Total Film Magazine's Lifetime", "The 30 Films That Define the Last 30 Years", "Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time", "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's Our Full List! The city mourns Dent as a hero, and the police launch a manhunt for Batman. [417], The Dark Knight was followed by The Dark Knight Rises (2012), the conclusion of The Dark Knight Trilogy. [220][223][233] Ebert surmised the entire cast provided "powerful" performances that engage the audience, such that "we're surprised how deeply the drama affects us". [310] The scene in which Batman stands in the ruins of a destroyed building, having failed to prevent the Joker's plot, is reminiscent of the World Trade Center site after September 11. Once Dent experiences a significant traumatic event in the loss of Rachel and his own disfigurement, he quickly abandons his noble former self to seek his own form of justice. It earned about $40million combined, making it second to Hancock ($44.8million), which was playing in nearly four times as many countries. Batman in the Dark Knight Dent claims he is Batman to lure out the Joker, who attacks the police convoy transporting him. It earned $158.4million during the weekend, a per-theater average of $36,282, breaking Spider-Man 3's record and making it the number-one film ahead of Mamma Mia! [135][35], Unlike the design process of Batman Begins, which was restrained by a need to represent Batman iconography, audience acceptance of its realistic setting gave The Dark Knight more design freedom. Every Single Batman Actor, Ranked From Worst to Best - Insider Bruce Wayne (Dark Knight trilogy) - Wikipedia The Dark Knight (2008) - Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent After submitting the draft to Warner Bros., Jonathan spent a further two months refining it until Christopher had finished directing The Prestige. [219], Several publications called The Dark Knight the best comic-book hero adaptation ever made. I'm just ahead of the curve. [261][270][271] The Dark Knight also won an award for Best Sound Editing (King), and received six nominations for Best Art Direction (Crowley and Peter Lando), Best Cinematography (Pfister), Best Film Editing (Smith), Best Makeup (Caglione Jr. and O'Sullivan), Best Sound Mixing (Hirschberg, Rizzo, and Ed Novick), and Best Visual Effects (Davis, Corbould, Webber, and Franklin). Roger Ebert said it, alongside Iron Man, had redefined the potential of superhero films by combining comic-book tropes with real world events. [311][328] Wayne's butler Alfred also commits a noble lie, concealing Rachel's choice of Dent over Wayne to spare him the pain of her rejection. Film studies professor Todd McGowan said Batman asserts authority over these copycats, telling them to stop because they do not have the same defensive equipment as himself, reaffirming his self-given authority to act as a vigilante. HBO Maxs Penguin Series Has Cast Its Sal Maroni, So Does This Dark Knight [34][39] Writer Alan Moore's graphic novel, Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), did not influence the main narrative but Christopher believed his interpretation of the Joker as someone partially driven to prove anyone can become like him when pushed far enough helped the Nolans give purpose to an "inherently purposeless" character. [86][87][88] Christopher particularly wanted to film the bank heist prologue in IMAX to immediately convey the difference in scope between The Dark Knight and Batman Begins. [210], The Dark Knight appeared on several lists recognizing the best films of 2008, includes those compiled by Ebert, The Hollywood Reporter, and the American Film Institute. The vigilante Batman, district attorney Harvey Dent, and police lieutenant Jim Gordon ally to eliminate Gotham's organized crime. [309][310] Batman's vigilante operation arms him with high-tech military equipment against common criminals, and the Joker is the inevitable response and escalation of lawlessness to counter Batman. [j] The final scene, in which the Joker states he and Batman are destined to battle forever, was not intended to tease a sequel but to convey the diametrically opposed pair were in an endless conflict because they will not kill each other. As the Joker states to Batman: Their morals, their code it's a bad joke. This conveys the protagonists' gradual abandonment of their principles when faced with an extreme foe. His coin is scarred on one side, introducing the risk of chance, and he submits himself to it completely. Batman and Gordon apprehend the Joker, and Gordon is promoted to commissioner. Corbould's team built the Batpod, which is based on a prototype Crowley and Christopher built by combining different commercial model components. [10], Focusing on Dent meant Bruce Wayne / Batman was written as a generally static character who did not undergo drastic character development. [35] They wanted to explore the theme of escalation and the idea that Batman's extraordinary efforts to combat common crimes would lead to an opposing escalation by criminals, attracting the Joker, who uses terrorism as a weapon. [376] As of 2022, it remains the highest critically rated Batman film according to Rotten Tomatoes, and is often ranked as the best film featuring the character. [81][117] After moving from Chicago in May, scenes filmed in the UK also include Criterion Restaurant, where Rachel, Dent, and Wayne share dinner, and a Gotham News scene that was filmed at the University of Westminster. 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