- Film Review
- Reviewed By Jeremy Aspinall
-
5 out of 5
If Batman Begins was the classy hors d'oeuvre in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster trilogy, then this awesome follow-up is a main course that delivers on all levels. Christian Bale is back as Gotham City's brooding nocturnal guardian, as are veteran stalwarts Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. But just as Batman has Gotham's bad guys on the run, he's soon in the fight of his life with the ultimate opponent, the Joker (Heath Ledger). In the performance that earned him a posthumous Oscar, Ledger creates a villain who's smart, charismatic, vicious and very, very scary, and kicks previous celluloid incarnations in to touch. But this is no simple face-off between two iconic opponents. Ledger's scarred schemer wants to bring everything crashing down - the city, the police, even the criminal underworld, itself. A Joker for our times, perhaps. He unleashes deadly dilemmas that make those in the Saw movies look avuncular in comparison. Nolan revels in their physical and psychological jousting, brilliantly capturing the yin-yang relationship between the troubled hero and his anarchic adversary. That's not to say there's any skimping on the action sequences because there are plenty of fights, chases and explosive set pieces, too. But this is a blockbuster with a bit more ambition - the stunningly staged bank heist at the start could have been lifted from a Michael Mann urban thriller. The film lags a little when the tragic origin of Two-Face surfaces, but that cannot deflect from this tale being a landmark among comic-book adaptations, as well as one of the best action yarns of the noughties.
Plot Summary
In the sequel to Batman Begins, the masked hero finds a new ally in his war on organised crime in Gotham City's crusading new district attorney, Harvey Dent. However, both men are pushed to their limits by the rise of the Joker, a criminal mastermind spreading chaos and destruction throughout the city for his own amusement. Comic-book thriller, starring Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and an Oscar-winning Heath Ledger.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Bruce Wayne / Batman
- Christian Bale
- The Joker
- Heath Ledger
- Harvey Dent / Two-Face
- Aaron Eckhart
- Alfred Pennyworth
- Michael Caine
- Lieutenant James Gordon
- Gary Oldman
- Lucius Fox
- Morgan Freeman
- Rachel Dawes
- Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Salvatore "The Boss" Maroni
- Eric Roberts
- Engel
- Anthony Michael Hall
- Barbara Gordon
- Melinda McGraw
- Gambol
- Michael Jai White
- Dr Jonathan Crane / The Scarecrow
- Cillian Murphy
- Bank manager
- William Fichtner
- Commissioner Gillian B Loeb
- Colin McFarlane
- Detective Ramirez
- Monique Gabriela Curnen
- Lau
- Chin Han
- Mayor Anthony Garcia
- Nestor Carbonell
- Chechen
- Ritchie Coster
- Detective Stephens
- Keith Szarabajka
Crew
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Share this episode
-