From a young child I always found the concept of superheroes fascinating. Everybody wanted to be one; they were popular, saved the day,were self sacrificing,and above all had the coolest outfits! I mean who wouldn't want to run around in a cape. As I got older heroes never stopped peaking my interest. Entering high school I realized why. People wanted to be saved: saved from themselves,from others,from the inevitable, and the mundane of everyday life.But why Batman you ask? Batman isn’t a hero, he’s a vigilante which means at the end of the day hes just like you and me, only he had the guts to stand up for himself and what he believes in. Now he might not have the ability to fly or leap tall buildings in a single bound (who would want to anyway, just walk around) but what he does have is a heart which convicted him to do what he could to fight injustice. People flock to Batman because he isn’t your stereotypical “hero”. While most superheroes live quiet lives hidden away in their secret identity and loud flashy ones while in costume, Bruce Wayne is the exact opposite. Bruce Wayne:playboy billionaire who drives expensive cars,throws exquisite parties, has a babe on both shoulders and is Gothams “prince”is the terrifying dark knight who would rather slink in the darkness than be in the spotlight. Granted he has the batmobile and the searchlight and makes a bang with every entrance as he blows something up, but in the end we all look for that moment of insane courage that Bruce Wayne had that catapulted him into the role of the Dark Knight.

The Dark Knight fits into two box office categories:action and comic book turned movie. The Dark Knight can be classified as action because of the fast paced fight scenes and heart palpitating places where anything could happen at any moment. Batman is an old classic that will never age. Christopher Nolan’s Batman marks the fifth film adaptation of this iconic DC storyline. Christian Bale proceeds Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer,and George Clooney.This film fits into the comic book turned movie category because of the essential elements all superhero comic book movies have.We have the main character who may or may not have “superpowers” aka Bruce Wayne or Batman. The crumbling city in need of saving,Gotham. A damsel in distress/love interest who kicks but in her profession of assistant district attorney, Rachel Dawes.And the one element that makes a hero, their counterpart, the villain or in this case a lunatic with a painted on face to hide his scars known as the Joker.

Taking the aforementioned characters and settings and placing them in a high tension situation lead to an explosive movie that delivered everything it promised. The Dark Knight picks up right where Batman Begins ends. It plays on how far and how much the human psyche can take before you turn into what you are fighting. This is what happens to Harvey Dent. Harvey Dent was Gotham’s “White Knight” putting criminal and mob masterminds behind bars until the Joker and his associates kidnapped him and Rachel Dawes. This was done to make Batman choose between the love of his life and Gothams District Attorney. Harvey Dent ends up having Rachel ripped away from him by death and half of his face burned off by acid leaving him the nickname of two face. Two Face becomes a vigilante and leaves his actions up to fate by flipping a double sided coin with one side being burned. Harvey is considered a vigilante because he doesn’t kill innocent people, he goes after the crooked cops or those who were bought off by the mob or the Joker to help orchestrate the chaos the Joker puts Gotham into.

The Joker is Batman’s main adversary in The Dark Knight. The Joker first appears in Gotham while robbing a bank. We don’t really get a clear backstory on him because he changes the story every time it’s told. This is my only complaint because in the comic books you find out that Batman pushed/ the Joker fell into a pit of acid and his face is scarred because of the botched plastic surgery job he received. The Joker preys on the criminally insane and bases his psychological games on how far the citizens of Gotham are willing to go to save their own skin.Through the entire movie the Joker pushes Batman and the citizens of Gotham to their breaking point.