Cultural influence
The Dark Knight is considered an influential and often-imitated work that redefined the superhero/comic-book film genre, and filmmaking in general.[ba] In 2020, the United States Library of Congress selected The Dark Knight to be preserved in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[331]
Before The Dark Knight, superhero films closely emulated their comic-book source material, and though the genre had seen significant successes such as Superman (1978), Batman (1989), X-Men (2000), and Spider-Man (2002), they were often considered disposable entertainment that did not garner much industry respect.[bb] A 2018 retrospective by The Hollywood Reporter said The Dark Knight taught filmmakers "comic book characters are malleable. They are able to be grounded or fantastic, able to be prestigious or pure blockbuster entertainment, to be dark and gritty or light, to be character-driven or action-packed, or any variation in-between."[285]
The Dark Knight is considered a blueprint for the modern superhero film that productions either attempt to closely emulate or deliberately counter.[bc] Its financial, critical, and cultural successes legitimized the genre with film studios at a time when recent films, such as Daredevil, Hulk (both 2003), Fantastic Four (2005), and Superman Returns (2006) had failed to meet expectations.[275][333] The genre became a focus of annual studio strategies rather than a relatively niche project, and a surge of comic-book adaptations followed, in part because of their broad franchising potential. In 2008, Ebert wrote; "[The Dark Knight], and to a lesser degree Iron Man, redefine the possibilities of the 'comic-book movie'".[210] The Atlantic wrote Iron Man's legacy in launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) could not have happened without the financial and critical success of The Dark Knight, which made comic book adaptations a central focus of film studios.[184][275][285]
Retrospective analysis has focused on the way studios, eager to replicate its performance, released tonally dark, gritty, and realistic films, or reboots of existing franchises, many of which failed critically or commercially.[277][285][329] Some publications said studios took the wrong lessons from The Dark Knight, treating source material too seriously and mistaking a dark, gritty tone for narrative depth and intelligent writing.[bd] The MCU is seen as a successful continuation of what made The Dark Knight a success, combining genres and tones relevant to each respective film while treating the source material seriously, unlike the DC Extended Universe, which more closely emulated the tone of The Dark Knight but failed to replicate its success.[329][335]
Directors including Sam Mendes (Skyfall, 2012), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), and David Ayer (Suicide Squad, 2016), have cited it as an influence on their work, Steven Spielberg listed it among his favorite films, and Timothée Chalamet said it inspired him to become an actor.[be] The film has been referenced in a variety of media including television shows such as Robot Chicken, South Park, and The Simpsons.[340][341][342] U.S. President Barack Obama used Joker to explain the growth of Islamic State (IS) military group, saying " ... the gang leaders of Gotham are meeting ... they were thugs, but there was a kind of order ... the Joker comes in and lights the whole city on fire. [IS] is the Joker."[343] Joker's appearance became a popular Halloween costume and also influenced the 2009 Barack Obama "Joker" poster.[bf]
Retrospective assessments
Since its release, The Dark Knight has been assessed as one of the greatest superhero films ever made,[bg] among the greatest films ever made,[bh] and one of the best sequel films.[bi] It is also considered among the best films of the 2000s,[bj] and in a 2010 poll of thirty-seven critics by Metacritic regarding the decade's top films, The Dark Knight received the eighth most mentions, appearing on 7 lists.[374] In the 2010s, a poll of 177 film critics by the BBC in 2016 listed it as the 33rd-best film of the 21st century,[375] and The Guardian placed it 98th on its own list.[376] In 2020, Empire magazine named it third-best, behind The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).[377] As of 2023, it remains the highest critically rated Batman film according to Rotten Tomatoes, and is often ranked as the best film featuring the character.[bk]
The Dark Knight remains popular with entertainment industry professionals, including directors, actors, critics, and stunt actors, being ranked 57th on The Hollywood Reporter's poll of the best films ever made,[358] 18th on Time Out's list of the best action films,[389] and 96th on the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest American Films.[359] The Dark Knight is included in the film-reference book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,[390] and film critics James Berardinelli and Barry Norman included it in their individual listings of the 100 greatest films of all time.[360][361] In 2012, Total Film named it the sixth-most-accomplished film of the preceding fifteen years, and a 2020 article by Empire named The Dark Knight as one of the films that defined the previous three decades.[391][392] In 2020, Time Out named it the seventy-second-best action movie ever made.[393]
Ledger's Joker is considered one of the greatest cinematic villains; several publications placed his portrayal second only to Darth Vader.[bl] In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter named Ledger's Joker the second-best cinematic superhero performance ever, behind Hugh Jackman as Wolverine,[399] and Collider listed him as the greatest villain of the 21st century.[400] In 2022, Variety listed him as the best superhero film performance of the preceding 50 years (Eckhart appears at number 22).[401] Entertainment Weekly wrote there had not been another villain as interesting or "perversely entertaining" as Joker, and Ledger's performance was considered so defining that future interpretations would be compared against it. Michael B. Jordan cited the character as an inspiration for his character Erik Killmonger in Black Panther.[bm] The "pencil trick" scene, in which Joker makes a pencil disappear by slamming a mobster's head on it, is considered an iconic scene and among the film's most famous.[bn] Similarly, the character's line "why so serious?" is among the film's most famous and oft-quoted pieces of dialog,[bo] alongside "everyone loses their minds," and Dent's line "you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain", as well as Pennyworth's line "some men just want to watch the world burn"; the lines also became popular internet memes.[bp]
The Dark Knight remains popular with audiences in publicly voted rankings. Over 17,000 people voted the film into the top ten of American Cinematographer's "Best-Shot Film of 1998–2008" list,[412] and listeners of BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra named it their eighth-favorite film.[413] Readers of Empire have alternatively voted it the fifteenth (2008),[414] third (2014),[415] and the fourth-greatest film ever made (2020).[416] The Dark Knight was also voted the greatest superhero movie by readers of Rolling Stone (2014),[417] and as one of New Zealand's favorite films (2015).[418]
