Over the years, I have seen popular online discourse of The Dark Knight shift, specifically amongst Batman fans, from virtually unanimous praise to now having developed a vocal section of the fanbase that believes the film to be “a good movie, but not a good Batman movie.” Regardless of your opinion on the overall logic of that statement, I think broadly that viewpoint stems from the film wildly diverting from typical expectations of what a “Batman movie” is and Christopher Nolan using his unique cinematic perspective to deliver a subversive but fully formed adaptation of the character.
The Dark Knight is obviously not really a film in need of any sort of lengthy defense of its quality, and I think most people at the very least agree it deserves its place among the lists of the great comic book adaptations, if not the greatest films of all time (though it is far from flawless). However, I’ve noticed a lot of fans miss the forest for the trees somehow with the film, usually in a attempt to prop up Batman Begins as a supposedly more accurate or “pure” translation of Batman from comic-to-film.
I enjoy Batman Begins a lot myself, and I think it was the first movie to nail Bruce Wayne as a believable character. However, in my opinion The Dark Knight continues this in a more complex, continually satisfying way, the only difference being Bruce is now the lead of an ensemble. That element to me feels very much in line with the major graphic novels that inspired it like Year One and The Long Halloween which tend to look at Gotham from a variety of character’s viewpoints. On the complete other end of the spectrum, even very recently l've seen online posts stating Joker is 'actually the main character' in the film and I just don't see how you could possibly think that this is the case if you’re putting your full attention toward this movie. Every character is a piece of the puzzle that slowly clicks into place before the climax. They all have a role to play but they all have something to say ultimately about Batman and his mission to save Gotham.
Good, evil. Light, dark. God, Satan. Man, animal. Life, Anti-Life. Order, Chaos. Batman, Joker. Two sides of a coin, one untouched and pure, the other burned and corroding, but still of the same cloth. Christopher Nolan is showing this by visualizing a Gotham slowly being turned into something primal or elemental, all of its people unknowingly drafted into a war of ideology. This is a furthering of the sociological aspects of Gotham that were a target of the League of Shadows in the first film, almost as if Ra's Al Ghul knew that eventually something like what happens in the second would occur. It also, to me, is an expansion on the dichotomy shown between Batman and Joker within Alan Moore's The Killing Joke (which to me The Dark Knight is the definitive adaptation of). Gotham is a constantly balancing act between Order and Chaos spearheaded by Batman and Joker as opposing figureheads while the scales are flipped and tested with the people of Gotham caught in the middle and for the first time on a magnifying lens.
The film takes great measures in nearly every aspect to separate itself from previous entries in the franchise. A lot of elements of the comic books here either are absent or are unrecognizable but it's completely by design. Apart from the film visually having a stripped down, sleek aesthetic that sets it apart within the genre, the film itself showcases a Batman and Gotham under metaphorphosis. Wayne Manor has been burned down and Bruce now lives in a high rise apartment overlooking the city he protects at night, almost as if he wants to view the fruits of his labor even during his brief free time. The Bat-Cave is no longer a literal cave, but a brightly lit corporate warehouse where Batman maintains his operations until Wayne Manor is rebuilt. The criminals of the city have been driven into hiding, barely holding onto what they have, when "out of desperation, they turn to a man they don't fully understand", the Joker, a actual manifestation of the dark corrupt side of Gotham evolving. Meanwhile, the Gotham City "heroes", the "Elite", sit on their thrones continuing to consolidate power, even ignoring the corrupt cracks in their foundation (though ultimately Batman as the Hero overcomes his own possible corruption). This is the complete opposite of where the previous film starts, with the criminals of Gotham running the City and the “good people" unable to do anything about it until they themselves turn to the man they don't fully understand, the first stage of this metamorphosis.
This physical transformation of the world established in Batman Begins is also showcased by the visual look of the city itself. In the first film, Gotham is depicted as dirty and grungy, not so much gothic as in the Tim Burton films but rather, especially as the film travelled to the darkest corner of Gotham called the Narrows, ringing closer to a slum, a place that would be an actual nightmare to live in. On the actual streets, the entire frame looks wet with rain and grime, and there’s a sense of almost post-apocalyptic desperation. There are high rise, almost futuristic looking skyscrapers but you also get a subtle sense of class disparity where a lot of the actual wealthy elite, aside from the Waynes and other good eggs, are somewhat aloof and unconcerned with the actual, desperate struggle of the people literally below them. Nothing like real life, of course. It's a visually unique depiction of Gotham that feels accurate to the source while straying from the gothic art deco so heavily featured in the previous films and Batman: The Animated Series.
In most modern incarnations of Batman's mythology, Gotham is depicted as a living, breathing hellhole of constant misery, occasionally chewing up and spitting out its citizens into twisted, homicidal funhouse mirrors of Batman, reflecting the cyclical, ultimately sad nature of his undying mission.
Often I see fans criticize The Dark Knight for Gotham "just looking like Chicago". Nolan does use Chicago extensively for Gotham in the film, and I understand the disappointment of Gotham City not being fully accurate to it's typical appearance in the most high profile, critically acclaimed piece of Batman media maybe ever. However, I think these fans might be simplifying or even perhaps missing out on the uniquely cinematic and thematically relevant reinvention of Gotham City portrayed in Nolan's films.
Christopher Nolan is smart enough to know in time his films won't be considered "The One True definitive take on Batman" but instead simply "Christopher Nolan's Batman" and uses every tool in his cinematic toolbox to tie this unique incarnation of the mythology together in a neat bow. The Dark Knight was filmed primarily in Chicago, which indeed is quite apparent, but l'd also like to point out that Batman Begins was primarily shot in London with the exception of a few scenes shot in Chicago quite notably the Tumbler chase scene, which in the film is the first public appearance of the Batman.
On a comic book page, Batman's mission truly can be undying, as it lives through words and illustrated images on a static page. In a film, however, like in life, if the story continues, it must continue to evolve. The choice to use an architecturally modern, brightly lit metropolis to portray the same city that was just a film before depicted as a grimy hole of urban old-world decay is not an accident. Gotham City, in both a metaphorical and literal sense, transforms before our very eyes, as do its characters, putting on literal masks to become physical manifestations of symbols and ideas.
In The Dark Knight, the scales have been tipped, the city pulling itself from the gutter of absolute desperation and itself having put on a mask of architectural magnificence and artificial clinical light. Batman uses far more advanced technology here than in any previous Batman film, to the point where it feels at times closer to science fiction, which is reflected in Batman surrounding himself at home and his makeshift cave in a stripped down modern minimalism that feels straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has transformed beyond the dire gothic nature of his start and has started to genuinely dramatically change things within the city.
Batman and Gotham both wear a mask, but the true face of the city itself hides true darkness, pure immature latent chaos that has been totally suppressed by those committed to complete order. As such the Joker is defined by his almost animalistic savagery and commitment to social anarchy. “Look what I did with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets.” No advanced technology. Just gas and bullets. Still done with the same minimalistic approach as Batman, but only because the film itself has Gotham stripped of all its fat and displaying its essential elements in pure form.
The Joker is birthed of Gotham’s ideological war, a necessary piece of the puzzle. In this sense, he is not truly a man, but a symbol, exactly Bruce's initial stated ambition for becoming Batman. The Joker is acutely aware of his place in this psychological conflict, showing it with a strange fascination and unnerving kinship to Batman during the interrogation, but also with the multiple origins he crafts for himself which really display different ways the human psyche can be broken down by "one bad day". All of those origins are true, but not at the same time, as the Joker is not truly one person, he is the physical representation of the darkest side of Gotham. His biggest mistake is believing Gotham as a whole was ultimately like him, but as an almost supernatural manifestation of chaos, his nonsensical beliefs make complete sense only to himself. He accomplishes so much with so little, as he actually has limited screen time, but it makes such an impact it feels like his presence is felt in every scene.
The Dark Knight doesn’t get its reputation because it’s a great Christopher Nolan crime drama that reluctantly uses the Batman character, but the way it utilizes the character and his mythology to tell a Batman story that’s bold and uniquely singular. The film stands the test of time and continues to be a definitive piece of superhero fiction, on par with some of the best stories told in comics. I understand preferring or having more of an attachment to Batman Begins but I think with The Dark Knight, Nolan reaches into something incredibly transformative and genre-defining here--a purely cinematic, psychologically rich character study on the complex nature of Batman, the Joker, and the people stuck in the crossfire.