The Dark Knight differs from the standard superhero film but
in other ways it is just what you would expect. The Dark Knight has an all star
cast with recognisable actors in most roles. The film is the sequel to Batman
Begins making The Dark Knight the second in the Nolan set of Batman films.
The Dark Knight has many of the standard conventions you
would expect from a superhero film. Throughout various scenes in the film you
can find clichéd and exaggerated dialogue by the police officers for example
“Lock and load”. These usually come at times just before they are killed by The
Joker or taken out in one of the films big set pieces like the convey/ chase
scene filmed in Chicago. These set pieces filled with explosions, car chases
and fighting are what you would expect from a superhero film, these large set
piece scenes can also be seen in other superhero films such as Thor, The
Incredible Hulk and Superman Returns. The Dark Knight also uses top special
effects to create whole cities with photo realistic effects. Most, if not all
superheroes also have a love interest, Spiderman has Gwen Stacey and Mary Jane,
Superman has Lois Lane then there are many others like Rogue and Jean Grey from
the X-men franchise. Batman has Rachel Dawes. What is unconventional about The
Dark Knights handling of this love interest is that Rachel dies in one of the
Jokers tests on Batmans morality. This is unconventional as Rachel is also one
of the main fighters for the streets of Gotham in the film and she dies, this
is unconventional as it is uncommon for a hero to die in these films. In
Superman, Superman turns back time to save Lois Lane but in this film Rachel is
killed in a terrorist attack differing from what an audience would expect in a
superhero film.
The story for The Dark Knight is also conventional in that it
is very linear; we are not thrown off the track to believe something else then
told the truth much later on after forming our assumptions. We know characters
intentions throughout the film, except from those of Harvey Dent who changes in
the last 1/3 of the film, after his transformation into Two-Face and Rachel’s
death. The story also deals with more real themes than other superhero films.
Most films deal with some sort of alien threat or science experiment like
General Zod or Abomination, basic tales of good vs evil. Whereas The Dark
Knight deals with themes of terrorism and at ideas of torture against these
terrorists. Even the start of the film is unconventional as The Joker robs a
mob bank (Also unconventional as why would the villain rob from his allies) and
the lack of Batman is made very evident as The Joker successfully robs a bank.
This is unconventional as a superhero stops all the crimes and a bank robbery
is something that you would expect a hero to stop and the main character of the
film is lacking from the first 6/7 minutes of the film (In brilliant IMAX). The ending to the film
is also very open as it sees Batman become known as a villain although he is
being the hero Gotham needs in doing so, echoing a number of lines spoken by
Harvey Dent throughout the film. This is similar to other films like Spiderman
and the “With great power, comes great responsibility” line.
Batman himself is very similar to other Superheroes like
Superman and Spiderman in many ways but differs in others. The names of their
superhero aliases all end in man, two being animals but Batman doesn't follow
the alliteration names of other superheroes such as Peter Parker (Spiderman),
Bruce Banner (Hulk) and Guy Gardner (Green Lantern). Batman also has his Achilles
heel as almost all superheroes have, The Hulk has to be angry and Superman has
Kryptonite for Batman his weaknesses come from his love for Rachel Dawes and
his one rule, that being that he will not kill. As similar Bruce Wayne/ Batman is to many superheroes
he also has many differences. Most superheroes have very bright colourful
costumes, usually red and blues. Batman has a completely black suit which you
would assume makes him a very sinister character. This is because Batman fights
for good in Gotham but he can be something that no one else can when he needs
to be. It is also arguable that Batman isn’t even really a superhero as he
doesn’t really have powers like Superman; his skill comes from intense training
in martial arts such as Keysi which we are shown in the first film which deals
with Bruce Wayne’s origin story and the technology he can afford as being one
of the richest men in this world.
The Joker is unconventional as a villain. In a villain we
would expect to know the characters back story whereas with The Joker we are
given multiple back stories but this helps instil fear into the characters and
show him as an enigma to the audience. He is also shown as a terrorist with
various attempts at blowing buildings up and killing civilians, police and
officials of Gotham and causing general anarchy throughout the film. This is
unconventional as a superhero film is a film that people use as a method of
escaping from the threats of the world as it is a world that a hero will always
triumph over the bad forces that are not usually very realistic seeing as they
are usually threats that don’t exist. The Joker shares similarities as well
with other villains as he has the costume that we would commonly suspect and he
is also quite eccentric and mad.
Overall The Dark Knight differs greatly from the conventional
superhero film. We aren’t shown a colourful film where good is triumphant but rather a dark, corrupted city
and the film leaves us with a more depressing ending seeing Batman become an
outcast, Harvey Dent; Gotham’s white knight corrupted by The Joker and then he
dies as well as Rachel being dead. Giving the film a much darker ending we
don’t expect to see from superhero movies as we always see the hero end up with
the person he loves and return to having some normality in their lives.
Harry
Harry
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