The Dark Knight
Movie, 2008, The 2000s, Set in Gotham City
The Dark Knight is #6 of 13 in release order and #6 of 13 in chronological order in the Christopher Nolan.
The story
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
The Dark Knight recap
A year on, Batman, Lieutenant Gordon and the new district attorney Harvey Dent are squeezing Gotham's mob, and Bruce hopes Dent can replace Batman. A criminal called the Joker offers to kill Batman for the mob and begins killing people until Batman unmasks. He murders a judge and the police commissioner and nearly kills the mayor, and Gordon seems to die protecting him. Dent claims to be Batman to draw the Joker out, and Gordon, alive after all, captures him. The Joker has already had Dent and Rachel Dawes kidnapped and placed in separate buildings rigged to explode. Batman goes to save Rachel, but the Joker has switched the addresses; Rachel dies, and Dent survives with half his face burned.
The Dark Knight ending explained
Dent becomes Two-Face and murders those he blames for Rachel. The Joker rigs two ferries, one of prisoners and one of civilians, to make each blow up the other, and neither does; Batman catches the Joker. Dent holds Gordon's family at gunpoint and dies in a fall when Batman tackles him. To keep Dent's crimes from freeing the criminals he jailed, Batman takes the blame for the murders and flees as Gordon has the Bat-Signal smashed.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch The Dark Knight
The Dark Knight is streaming on YouTube TV and HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 9.1/10, Rotten Tomatoes 94%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Prestige, before Inception.
- Chronological order: after The Prestige, before Inception.
Cast
- Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne
- Heath Ledger as Joker
- Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent
- Michael Caine as Alfred
- Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel
- Gary Oldman as Gordon
- Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox
- Monique Gabriela Curnen as Ramirez
- Ron Dean as Wuertz
- Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow
- Chin Han as Lau
- Nestor Carbonell as Mayor
Directed by Christopher Nolan.