The Dark Knight (2008) Revisited: DC Movie Review

As much as fans loved Matt Reeves’ noirish take on The Batman, ask many folks what the best ever big-screen Batman movie is, and they’ll answer Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. A legendary sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, this epic permanently changed how comic book movies were perceived. Until then, they were seen as fun potential blockbusters but without any artistic merit. When The Dark Knight came along, suddenly, critics started to take the genre seriously.

The movie also became a pop culture phenomenon, skyrocketing director Christopher Nolan to the top of the A-list, establishing Christian Bale as perhaps the definitive screen Batman (to that point), and making Hans Zimmer’s iconic score so influential blockbusters are still knocking it off to this day. However, the most celebrated aspect of the film is, without a doubt, Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. Tragically, he would pass away before the film’s release, but he would win a posthumous Oscar and become a pop culture icon whose status hasn’t diminished in the 14 years since the film’s release.

In this episode of DC Revisited, we take a look at the making of Nolan’s classic, examining how the film was cast, the reaction from the MPAA (who almost gave the film an R-rating) and its lasting impact on the pop culture, with it being more than merely a hit film. It was a bonafide phenomenon. This episode of DC Revisited is written and edited by Adam Walton, narrated by Tyler Nichols, and produced by Chris Bumbray. Watch previous episodes below and let us know in the comments how you think The Dark Knight holds up.