The Dark Knight Turns 15

2008 was a very important year in cinema, especially for the superhero genre as one of the greatest superhero films of all time was released and that film is the Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight is the sequel to 2005 Batman Begins and part of “The Dark Knight Trilogy” with the third film The Dark Knight Rises being released in 2012. The film was directed by Christopher Nolan, who did both the story and screenplay as well. The film picks up sometime after the events of the first film and opens up to one of the best openings in cinema history.

From here we are introduced to the villain of the film and it’s none other than the Joker who was portrayed by the late Heath Ledger who went on to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for this film. From here we see the rest of the cast that includes Christian Bale as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/ Two-Face, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox.

The film itself is set in the real grounded world and with the concept of what would the world react to if there is someone who just want to see the world burn around him and just smiles. While many think at the time and now that the film is based on a few Batman comic limited series such as The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, and Frank Miller’s comic work from the 1980s, the film was more like a crime drama than a superhero film.

While the film is about two and a half hours long, The Dark Knight is a film that is worth the watch and still stands the test of time. The film set the bar high and I mean high for other superhero films for years to come. You have to remember that in 2008 Iron Man came out as well and started the MCU, but many people will always remember The Dark Knight for how this film versions of the Joker and Batman are considered to be the best, next to Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.