Christopher Nolan leaving DC was the best thing to happen for Marvel Studios: a review of The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan leaving DC was the best thing to happen for Marvel Studios: a  review of The Dark Knight!

Director Christopher Nolan's 2008 film The Dark Knight is without any reasonable doubt 1 of the greatest films ever, let alone superhero films that transcended its genre by being directed at an intelligent adult audience. In this film, a face-painted psychopath calling himself the Joker terrorizes the city of Gotham to persuade Batman to reveal his true identity. Batman, meanwhile, is conflicted by his role and puts his faith in an up and coming District Attorney named Harvey Dent who works on the side of the law to replace him. The film stars Christian Bale as Batman, Aaron Echhart as Commissioner Harvey Dent, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as Lieutenant James Gordon, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox CEO of Wayne Enterprises, and, last but not least Heath Ledger in his final performance as Joker. Nolan and his brother Jonathan co wrote the script that is based on a story by Christopher and David S. Goyer.

Those who followed Nolan's career from his debut film 'Following' (1998) and his game-changing reverse-chronological masterpiece 'Memento' (2000) were probably not surprised by the complexity and literature-like quality he brought to Batman which in my mind is a Criterion-worthy trilogy. The Dark Knight is the only-- THE ONLY-- superhero film that earned an Oscar in an acting category for Heath Ledger's retardedly brilliant performance as the Joker, albeit a posthumous Supporting Actor award. Nolan's Batman also distinguishes itself from other superhero films in how it mirrors our own society, complete with crooked politicians and crooked cops and face-painted psychopaths like the Joker whose face paint links him in our collective minds with domestic terrorists like the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh or 21 year old Christopher Sides who shot up a Florida theater in 2012 wearing Joker face-paint.

It was inevitable that Nolan's art-house interpretation of Batman would be replaced by Zack Snyder's franchise version but we can always go back and enjoy The Dark Knight and its sequels.