7 Secrets Of The Dark Knight's Success
6. A Sense Of Humour Open To Improv
Okay, we may have just said that seriousness was pivotal to the film’s success, but equally important is the film’s injections of levity both onscreen and behind the scenes. The wit laced through The Dark Knight is central to its success, as these lighter moments allowing more over-the-top elements to gel with the dark tone without overwhelming its believability.
Yes, the film have garnered comparisons to 1976’s All the President’s Men upon its release, but it also features a man whose face is almost melted off along a conveniently perfect dividing line and an outlandish surveillance system that even the most paranoid conspiracy nut would laugh off as impossibly ambitious.
So throwing in off-the-cuff improvised moments such as the Joker’s sarcastic applause upon hearing the news of Gary Oldman’s exasperated James Gordon being promoted, or the actor’s authentic confusion and frantic frustration with the malfunctioning detonator when blowing up the hospital, helps ground the trilogy in a slightly heightened, though nonetheless recognizable, reality.
Thus, it’s thanks to these occasional moments of comic relief that the audience can suspend their disbelief for touches like the aforementioned Two-Face, as even the film’s villains are capable of offering a sly aside to the viewer.