The Dark Knight poster

The Dark Knight (2008)

Film · 2h 32m · Rated PG-13

Action, Crime, Thriller

A relentless, gritty crime thriller where a hero's war on chaos takes a darkly comic and epic turn.

Suspenseful. A full-attention watch at full speed. Emotionally it is heavy.

86
Must Watch
CouchRot Score, from 20 cinephile ratings

Streaming on Max.

The Dark Knight parents guide

No sex or nudity and some strong language, about what a PG-13 should carry.

Our estimate: fine from about 13. Rated PG-13.

Scare
Mildly scary
A few tense or eerie moments.
Jump scares
A couple
One or two sudden jolts.
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
None noted
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Dark Knight scary?
Only a little. The Dark Knight has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.
How gory is The Dark Knight?
Light gore and strong violence.
What is The Dark Knight rated, and is it OK for kids?
For teens, mostly: it is rated PG-13, with some strong language and strong violence.
ConfidenceDialing In
20 ratings deep. Getting dialed in.
ConsensusMostly Agree
DividedNear unanimous
How the 20 ratings land
0
Skip It
0
Not Great
0
Decent
10
Really Good
10
Must Watch

What is The Dark Knight about?

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.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.

Cast and crew

Directed byChristopher Nolan
StarringChristian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.