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Reviews Counted:271
Fresh:254
Rotten:17
Average Rating:8.5/10
Consensus: Dark, complex and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.
Theatrical Release:Jul 18, 2008 Wide
Box Office: $533,316,061
Synopsis: To say that Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT is the best comic book adaptation does the film a bit of a disservice. It may be a Batman film, but this isn't a kid-friendly action movie full of... [More]
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Director: Christopher Nolan
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The generation of consumers who swallow this pessimistic sentiment can’t see past the product to its debased morality. Instead, their excitement about The Dark Knight’s dread (that teenage thrall with subversion) inspires their fealty to product.
The movie is two-and-a-half hours of almost non-stop action, which while often enthralling, eventually gets tiring. It's just go-go-go.
The plot is often impossible to follow. And the film, though dark, isn't as deep as some have claimed.
This movie is grim and jammed together. The narrative isn't shaped coherently to bring out contrasts and build toward a satisfying climax. The Dark Knight is constant climax; it's always in a frenzy, and it goes on forever.
Top CriticThe Dark Knight is noisy, jumbled, and sadistic.
Top CriticVisually impressive, but any hack can do a halfway decent job with trailer-ready tangents. Not everyone can push the genre forward, and the fact that Nolan's padded popcorn flick isn't the streamlined masterpiece it could have been is a real buzzkill.
Middling as a summer blockbuster, zero as art, and more than a bit alarming as a phenomenon
Lacks is a sense of humor and a notion about the essential silliness of this premise.
Christopher Nolan's latest exploration of the Batman mythology steeps its muddled plot in so much murk that the Joker's maniacal nihilism comes to seem like a recurrent grace note.
Top CriticPlodding, puffed-up kitsch mistaking itself for profound psycho noir that the source material won't support.
Now you see it, now you don't.
It's jam-packed with flawlessly designed set-pieces and skullduggery, sure, but it's also shrouded in grim portent, overlaid with a filigree of despair, and, for good measure, covered in a patina of dire consequence.
This movie is too in love with itself to make you love it.
It's the standard-bearer for the school of comic-book movies that confuses pompousness with seriousness and popular mechanics for drama.
Powerful acting, powerful action, huge IMAX sequences give this Batman a great big commanding feel. However, story is held hostage to action, especially in the second half.
[Ledger gives] a fine performance regardless, and I wish the movie around it were more deserving.
Top CriticMixed with the flashes of absolute brilliance are long dead sections. The film left me more often bored than entertained. It's a certain candidate for my list of this year's most overrated movies.
It's a dark epic, but thankfully, there are some moments of comic relief.
It's excellent.
Let it be said that [Ledger's is] such a fearless, fierce, menacing turn that comparisons with Jack Nicholson don’t come into it. This is the definitive Joker.
November 24, 2009:
WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
There's no denying that the Blu-ray format is vastly superior to DVD, but what if you've spent the last decade building up a substantial DVD library? Now that HD DVD is finally... More...
June 25, 2009:
The Dark Knight Wins Big at Saturn Awards 
The 35th annual Saturn Awards were held Wednesday night, with "The Dark Knight" earning a ceremony-high five awards -- including best action/adventure film -- and "Iron Man" and... More...
June 24, 2009:
Academy Expands Number of Best Picture Nominees to 10
With today's news that in February, the Oscars will field 10 best-picture nominees, the horserace that is the Academy Awards promises to look a lot more like - a... More...
April 28, 2009:
Bale Crosses Fingers, Hopes Nolan Will Return for TDK Sequel
They've saved the juicy stuff for the print edition, but Total Film has posted a few bits and pieces of its recent interview with Christian Bale -- including some of his... More...
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