The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is a 2008 American superhero film co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005). Christian Bale reprises the lead role. Batman's primary conflicts in the film include his fight against his arch-nemesis the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his rivalry with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) for the affections of assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

SUMMARY

The film begins with The Joker robbing a mob-owned bank. That night, multiple Batman impersonators interrupt a meeting between Russian mobsters and the Scarecrow. Soon, the real Batman arrives and subdues everyone, but suffers injuries which lead him to design a more versatile suit. Later, Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon contemplate including the new district attorney Harvey Dent in their plan to eradicate the mob, as he could be the public hero Batman cannot be. Harvey Dent is found to be dating Wayne's love interest, Rachel Dawes. The mob bosses meet to discuss how to handle Batman, Gordon, and Dent, while a Chinese mobster accountant, Lau, lets the gang leaders know he has taken their money to Hong Kong to prevent the police and the district attorney from seizing it in an imminent bank raid. The Joker arrives unexpectedly, offering to kill Batman for half of the mob's money.

Bruce Wayne and Lucius Fox head to Hong Kong, where Batman successfully abducts Lau and delivers him to the Gotham City police. This prompts the mobsters to agree to hire The Joker. The Joker tells all of Gotham that if the Batman does not unmask and turn himself in to the police, more people will die each day. When The Joker begins killing public officials, including Commissioner Loeb and the judge presiding over the mob trials, Wayne decides to turn himself in. Before he can do so, Dent announces in a public address that he is Batman, to draw The Joker out of hiding. While Dent is being taken away by the police in an armoured car, The Joker chases him in a trailer in an attempt to kill him. But Batman arrives in time and after having his Batmobile destroyed, he uses the Batpod to flip The Joker's trailer and bring him out. Before he can kill Batman, Gordon intervenes and arrests The Joker.

Batman interrogates The Joker, who reveals that Dawes and Dent have been taken to opposite sides of the city, far enough apart that Batman does not have time to save both of them in time, and placed in warehouses rigged with explosives. Batman speeds off to save Dawes, while Gordon and the police head after Dent. Rachel and Harvey are able to speak to each other through a phone line, where Dawes accepts his wedding proposal. However, it is revealed that The Joker has switched the locations, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Dawes. With the help of a phone-bomb planted at the police station, The Joker escapes with Lau in tow. Batman arrives at Dent's location in time to save him, but Dent sustains severe burns to the left side of his face. Gordon does not arrive in time to save Rachel, who dies in the explosion. Batman find Dent's lucky two-headed coin, whose one side also gets burnt, in the building wreckage and returns it to his hospital bedside. In the hospital, Dent is driven to madness over the loss of Dawes. The Joker frees Dent from the hospital and convinces him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters, Gordon and Batman, before blowing it up.

While Harvey "Two-Face" Dent confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping his coin to decide their fates, The Joker burns Lau along with the mob's money that they give him. The Joker announces to the public that he will rule the streets and that anyone left in Gotham at nightfall will be subject to his rule. With the bridges and tunnels out of the city closed due to The Joker's bomb threat, the authorities begin evacuating people by ferry. The Joker places explosives on two of the ferries — one carrying convicts, the other with civilians — telling the passengers on each that the only way to save themselves is to trigger the explosives on the other ferry; otherwise, at midnight he will destroy them both remotely.

Batman locates The Joker using a sonar-vision and prevents him from destroying the ferries. After being defeated by Batman, the Joker acknowledges that Batman really is incorruptible, but that Dent was not and that he has unleashed Dent's madness upon the city. Batman finds Dent holding Gordon and his family at the building where Dawes died. Dent proceeds to judge Batman, himself, and Gordon's son through the chance of a coin flip, which he sees as the only fairness left in the world. Dent shoots Batman in the stomach, but before he can determine the boy's fate Batman tackles him over the side of the building, saving Gordon's son. As Dent lies motionless on the ground, Batman and Gordon realize the fallout and loss of morale the city would suffer if Dent's acts of murder became known. Batman convinces Gordon to blame him for the murders to preserve Dent's image. As Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal, a manhunt is issued for Batman.


For his conception of the film, Nolan was inspired by the Joker's first two appearances in the comics and Batman: The Long Halloween. The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, as well as in several other locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. The director used an IMAX camera to film six major action sequences, including the Joker's first appearance in the film.

Warner Bros. created a viral marketing campaign for The Dark Knight, developing promotional websites and trailers highlighting screenshots of Heath Ledger as the Joker. After Ledger's death in January 2008, however, the studio refocused its promotional campaign.[3][4] The film was released on July 16, 2008 in Australia, on July 18, 2008 in North America, and on July 24, 2008 in the United Kingdom. Prior to its box office debut in North America, record numbers of advance tickets were sold for The Dark Knight. Upon its release, the movie broke box office records for biggest opening day and biggest opening weekend and also surpassed $200 million in earnings in just five days. In addition to commercial success, the movie was also critically praised, with an approval rating of 95% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[5]