Story
The Dark Knight is set a year after Batman Begins. It opens with the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his band of villains successfully robbing a bank. The Joker kills his accomplices one by one in the process. Following the movie’s introduction, we find that Batman/Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) together with Lt James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) have formed an alliance. They plan to capture the Mob’s money deposits. But a Chinese mobster called Lau (Chin Han) foils Batman’s plans by making the money disappear. Lau also escapes to Hong Kong.
The Joker re-enters the story. He promises a consortium of Mob bosses, headed by Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts), that he will get their money back and get rid of Batman. His price is half of the Mob’s money. The Joker then unleashes a reign of terror and chaos, which includes killing Commissioner Gillian (Colin McFarlane), and a Gotham Judge, making an attempt on the lives of Lt. Gordon and Bruce Wayne and capturing Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Bruce Wayne’s ex-girlfriend, and Harvey Dent.
Themes
Sadism; organised crime
Violence
The Dark Knight contains brutal violence enacted against men, women and children. While only minimal blood and gore is shown, this violence is very disturbing and has considerable impact. The Joker is presented as a psychotic agent of chaos. For example:
Sexual references
There are some sexual references in this movie. For example:
- While standing on the deck of a yacht surrounded by bikini-clad women, Alfred makes mildly suggestive remarks about applying suntan lotion.
- Rachel holds Harvey’s hand and suggestively asks him to take the rest of the day off. Harvey refuses.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
There is some use of substances in this movie. For example:
- The Scarecrow and the Mob do a drug deal.
- People hold glasses of wine/champagne at a party and in a restaurant.
- Bruce Wayne holds a glass of wine but doesn’t drink the wine. When not observed, he discards the glass’s contents.
- Police Commissioner Gillian B Loeb pours himself a glass of scotch. He then comments on how he uses scotch to help when under pressure.
Nudity and sexual activity
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie. For example:
- We see Bruce Wayne/Batman’s naked torso including several large scars, which are the obvious results of previous violent encounters.
- A Russian ballet troupe are seen in bikinis on the deck of a yacht.
- A man and a woman kiss each other on the lips in a couple of scenes.
- Women wear evening dresses with low-cut tops that reveal cleavage, shoulders and back.
- At a party, a man and a woman hop up from a couch in a rushed manner when disturbed. The man is tucking in his shirt and the woman is rearranging the top of her dress.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
The Dark Knight contains infrequent low-level coarse language and put-downs.
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Dark Knight is a dark and disturbing action thriller. The movie’s visual effects are superb and Heath Ledger provides a performance that makes the Joker appear believable and disturbing. But even some adults might find some of the movie’s content disturbing. It is definitely not suitable for children and many younger adolescents.
If you are watching it with older adolescents, you could talk about the values of self-sacrifice and perseverance. This movie could also give you the opportunity to discuss attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
- the dilemma of ordinary people forced to choose between killing other people and saving their own lives
- circumstances in which it could be acceptable to break the law in order to achieve a greater good.