THE DARK KNIGHT Was Released 15 Years Ago Today - And Is Still Considered The Greatest CBM Of All Time

THE DARK KNIGHT Was Released 15 Years Ago Today - And Is Still Considered The Greatest CBM Of All Time

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight hit theaters 15 years ago today, and it's a testament to the epic Batman Begins sequel that it's still viewed as the best comic book movie of all time...

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By MarkCassidy - Jul 18, 2023 11:07 PM EST
Filed Under: The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins sequel, The Dark Knight, debuted in theaters 15 years ago today, and is still considered one of, if not the greatest comic book movie of all time.

The film saw the return of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, who, after saving Gotham City from Ra's al Ghul (Liam Neeson), found himself pitted against an enigmatic agent of chaos who just wants to "watch the world burn."

After the character's introduction was teased with a playing card at the end of Begins, The Dark Knight gave us arguably the most celebrated comic book villain depiction of all time in the form of The Joker. Heath Ledger, who sadly passed away as a result of an accidental overdose of medications shortly before the movie was released, was nominated for and won a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The movie itself was not nominated for Best Picture, but the Academy received so much backlash that it expanded the category to ten nominees.

Despite The Dark Knight's acclaimed status, the movie was not immune to criticism, and there is a vocal minority who believe it's highly overrated. Bale's exaggerated "Bat-voice" remains divisive (apparently, Nolan altered the actor's voice to sound more gravelly in post), as does the decision to kill-off Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent/Two-Face at the end of the movie.

The more negative reviews also focused on the lengthy run-time, a perceived lack of humor, and "muddled" plot. Even so, the majority of superhero movie fans continue to view The Dark Knight as the best the genre has to offer.

Did you mark The Dark Knight's 15-year anniversary with a re-watch? If so, do you think it holds up? Be sure to share your thoughts on the movie in the comments section.

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MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 7/18/2023, 11:31 PM
I don’t. I like Batman begins better, but there’s no denying heath one of the greatest villains ever
Steel86
Steel86 - 7/18/2023, 11:44 PM
@MyCoolYoung - I alwaysed said Batman Begins is almost a perfect CBM but TDK is the perfect comic book and director movie. The marriage of CBM was perfectly blended with what Nolan wanted to present.
iceballsreborn
iceballsreborn - 7/19/2023, 1:46 AM
@Steel86 - bait and switch Ra, and microwave ending? no sir. also kinda boring. also kinda looks brown and washed out.
Fogs
Fogs - 7/19/2023, 5:21 AM
@MyCoolYoung - I agree. Lemme put it this way:

- Begins is a better BATMAN film. It tells the origin and reasoning behind what Batman is perfectly, chef's kiss.

- TDK is a better FILM overall. High stakes, top notch acting. BUUUT.. It could be bourne, ethan hunt or james bond against the joker and it wouldn't really make much of a difference.
MG0019
MG0019 - 7/19/2023, 9:45 AM
@MyCoolYoung - Finally! Someone who gets me. Begins was the best of the Nolan trilogy. TDK isn’t bad at all; it’s a great movie. But it’s also borderline not a Batman movie, and the best part is Joker.

The article’s title needs to calm down too. Greatest CBM of All Time? Marvel has been disappointing me lately, but I’d say Infinity War or Endgame take that. That felt like watching a comic event come to life.
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 7/19/2023, 11:34 AM
@MG0019 - civil war and infinity war are my top contenders for goat. I’d be happy if I’m wrong, but I don’t think I’ll ever have a theater experience like I did with Infinity war. That was crazy
MyCoolYoung
MyCoolYoung - 7/19/2023, 11:38 AM
@Fogs - well said. That Nolan and Ledger duo was legendary but It was something about begins for me that clicked. The struggles in the beginning, coming to the courthouse with a gun. Just good stuff
RolandD
RolandD - 7/19/2023, 6:26 PM
@Fogs - Agree 💯 about the two movies and have said so a time or so over the years.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 7/18/2023, 11:37 PM
“And Is Still Considered The Greatest CBM Of All Time“

By whom?

The Dark Knight was a good movie but needed to end 30 minutes earlier.

Batman Begins was the better character mic book movie.
TDK was basically a crime drama.
iceballsreborn
iceballsreborn - 7/19/2023, 1:47 AM
@TyrantBossMedia - TDK was a crime drama? it was a mess. not sure it was a crime drama.
iceballsreborn
iceballsreborn - 7/19/2023, 1:53 AM
@TyrantBossMedia - sorry yes TDK crime dram.. some reason thought you meant rises. which was a complete mess.
joshmachine94
joshmachine94 - 7/19/2023, 3:28 AM
@TyrantBossMedia - You saw "by whom?" like it's not the 3rd highest rated movie of all time on IMDB.
Regardless of your personal opinion and, presumably jumping the gun here, your views on IMDB ratings, implying TDK is not considered one of the greatest CMB movies of all time is preposterous!!
joshmachine94
joshmachine94 - 7/19/2023, 3:29 AM
*saw - say. Need an edit button so bad.
TyrantBossMedia
TyrantBossMedia - 7/19/2023, 4:21 AM
@joshmachine94 - IMDB is not the defining authority on movies.
HeavyMetal4Life
HeavyMetal4Life - 7/18/2023, 11:39 PM
One of
WADEZILLA13
WADEZILLA13 - 7/18/2023, 11:39 PM
The Most Overrated CBM of All Time
Steel86
Steel86 - 7/18/2023, 11:41 PM
Umm... is it? One of the' best. I love it but not sure if I'd rank it #1.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/19/2023, 12:21 AM
@Steel86 - so what's number 1 then sweetcheaks?
Steel86
Steel86 - 7/19/2023, 12:41 AM
@McMurdo - Superman the movie is my personal favorite. Shoot idk it's all subjective. Blade maybe, Lol.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 7/18/2023, 11:41 PM
This date is burned in my brain forever as "TDK Day" lol. I remember it like it was yesterday. I've never been so pumped for a movie in my entire life and never will be again. 2 years of straight hype since the day it was announced in 2006.
Fogs
Fogs - 7/19/2023, 5:24 AM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - Those were the days, man. Wish I can feel that way again over a DC film.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 7/19/2023, 7:51 AM
@Fogs - agreed. depending on the trailer for The Batman Part II i may get close, but never to the level of TDK
Fogs
Fogs - 7/19/2023, 8:18 AM
@MotherGooseUPus - Eh, I liked the visuals and tone of The Batman... but couldn't really get into it.
Ha1frican
Ha1frican - 7/18/2023, 11:45 PM
The impact this movie had is still being felt today. I finally watched Fast X at home tonight and in a lot of ways it’s aping TDK especially with the villain although in a more campy way
bcom
bcom - 7/19/2023, 12:40 AM
@Ha1frican - I pretty much thought the same thing after seeing Fast X. I instantly thought of Jason Momoa's Dante as the F&F's version of the Joker. He's out to cause chaos and disrupt the lives of the heroes and they can't stop him or predict what he's going to do next. He's both funny and dangerous at the same time.
TheOtherOn
TheOtherOn - 7/18/2023, 11:46 PM
"...And still considered the GREATEST CBM of all time!"
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 7/18/2023, 11:47 PM
Yeah, Ledger Joker is easily the S-tier of CBM villains.
LucasTurkeyNeck
LucasTurkeyNeck - 7/18/2023, 11:48 PM
Is is a spectacle? Yes, equally steak and the sizzle but it’s pretty imperfect and it becomes bloated toward the end. One thing that always bothered me was the tease of boss Maroni throwing the chemical on dent, why even introduce Maroni at all if that scene wasn’t going to play it?

I really disliked two-faces origin but thought he was played brilliantly as Tommy Lee jones was just playing Cesar romeros joker and not a man struggling against himself. Of course ledger is fantastic but quite honestly jones for me it’s power has somewhat diminished thanks to arrogant wannabe actors on YouTube attempting to do their Joker impersonation, it’s akin to when the radio played ‘smells like teen spirit’ over and over until the song just lost all fervor…. For me at least.
The bat suit was frankly not very good and just too busy and complicated, you could see how the new helmet would pinch off Bales nose making him perpetually keep his mouth open during scenes in the suit and his voice reached comedic heights. Some parts where he tries to intimidate are actually a bit humorous and not nearly as dangerous as in begins.

One thing I will always remember about this movie was the hype and the excitement as at that time we had not had a live action joker since 1989. And of course Nolan’s productions are highly secretive that every picture of ledger we all just picked apart and analyzed, social media as we know it now was in its infancy then so news wasn’t as readily available as it is now.

The first image of ledger with just the close up of his face was very eerie.

All I’m all a good movie but hindsight has diminished some of its power for me.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 7/19/2023, 12:50 AM
@LucasTurkeyNeck - Something that always bothered me about this movie was the scene where Joker and his goons crash Bruce's penthouse party.

So Joker throws homegirl out the window. Batman jumps out and saves her. Then the scene just....ends. But, Joker and his thugs are all still in the building. It's Bruce's building. He owns it. And you're telling me he didn't go back in and try to catch Joker? Or one of his henchmen to interrogate, at least? He just saved Rachel and was like, "Welp, nothing more I can do here."

There's no way Joker and his crew made it to the first floor and out of the building before Batman and Rachel hit the street. They free-fell almost the entire way down lol. A quick shot of Joker fleeing the building some way would have fixed that. Zip lines out a window maybe? I don't know, SOMETHING.

It just felt like a poorly thought out scene to me. But I still love this movie.
joshmachine94
joshmachine94 - 7/19/2023, 3:34 AM
@CorndogBurglar - I agree! Get the same thought every time I see that scene. I think some of it might have been cut from the movie (it's also already 2.5 hours long). Nolan's movies seem to have moments like these - like the need to move the plot at speed required some not-so-pivotal to the story but good-to-have scenes to be cut.
LucasTurkeyNeck
LucasTurkeyNeck - 7/19/2023, 4:21 AM
@CorndogBurglar - you know, as soon as joker let go you see joker scurry off to the side briefly.

It’s not implausible that they rushed into the elevator and there was a driver/goon waiting for them. (In fact years ago when pics were co
Ing out there was a creepy one with homer in the back of a car with a goon in the driver seat).

Plus as Batman/Rachel were falling I’m sure they were heading down to the getaway vehicle which was most likely on another side of the building.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 7/19/2023, 4:22 AM
@CorndogBurglar - And that's not even mentioning how they can both fall from that height with nary a scratch and then he falls from a much lesser height at the end of the movie and it injures him so badly he he's taken out of action for 8 years.
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