The Bottom Line
Pros
- The best movie of 2008
- Christian Bale as Batman and Heath Ledger as The Joker - Casting couldn't have been better
- Terrific performances by the entire cast
- Looks fantastic on Blu-Ray
Cons
- None worth noting
Description
- Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Written by Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
- Directed by Christopher Nolan
- Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace
- Blu-Ray/DVD Release Date: December 9, 2008 (just in time for holiday shopping)
Guide Review - 'The Dark Knight' Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-Ray Review
The Story
Newly elected District Attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart) works with Lt Jim Gordon (Oldman) and Batman (Bale) to rid Gotham of organized crime, but their goal of keeping their city free of crime is complicated by the appearance of The Joker (Ledger).
The Bonus Features
Watching The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray is the next best thing to seeing the film in IMAX. The colors are vibrant, every detail of The Joker's creepy makeup is enhanced and sharp in Blu-Ray, and the film fairly leaps off the small screen in this format. And the scenes shot specifically for IMAX smoothly flow into the non-IMAX segments.Disc 1 includes 18 'Focus Points' in addition to the feature film. Turn the extra feature on and go behind the scenes (at specific points of the movie when gold discs appear) to watch how scenes were shot. After the piece is done, you're brought back to where the disc initially appeared. Or if you'd rather watch the film uninterrupted, choose to watch the Focus Points as one long featurette, or check out each one separately. They're all interesting bits which explain everything from shooting for the IMAX format to staging action scenes.
Disc 2 includes a batch of goodies that explore everything Batman. Batman Tech is a 45+ minute featurette that looks at the gadgets and weapons used by the Caped Crusader. Batman Unmasked examines the psychology of Batman and the villains and Gotham Tonight is six short mock news reports from 'Gotham Cable'. These segments, hosted by Anthony Michael Hall, connect the dots between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Photo galleries, trailers, and a digital copy of the film complete the special edition set.
