The Dark Knight is one of the best superhero movies of all time, and that is largely due to the portrayal of the Joker. The film starts with a spectacular sequence in which the Joker carries out a bank robbery. However, a YouTuber is sure: that was quite unlikely.
What happens at the beginning of The Dark Knight? At the beginning of the film, we see a group of criminals wearing clown masks attempting a spectacular bank robbery. The twist at the end reveals that the Joker has tricked everyone and made off with the money.
Everything seems ingeniously planned. The members of the gang eliminate each other, the bus arrives on time, and the Joker escapes without being caught. However, a YouTuber explains in a video that the plan isn’t all that brilliant and that it’s quite likely such a plan would fail.
Another film shows a significantly better heist
What does a good heist look like? The YouTuber Despot of Antrim explains in his YouTube video The Joker’s Bank Heist Plan is Terrible
that it is highly unlikely that the Joker’s plan would have worked. He starts the video by showing a good bank robbery from the film The Place Beyond the Pines.
There, he explains what is probably the most important aspect of a bank robbery: the probabilities. In the scene from The Place Beyond the Pines, you see many factors that ensure the security of the plan:
- Small bank
- Reliable route
- Quick actions with few variables
- Control
You can see how Ryan Gosling’s character takes control, grabs the bank employee, snatches the money, and escapes on his motorcycle. His partner waits with a van, into which Gosling rides on the motorcycle and then leisurely flees.
The most important thing about this robbery is that nothing can go wrong. There are no actions that require perfect timing. The most dangerous factor in the video is Gosling’s motorcycle ride, as he could easily fall or crash there.
The Joker’s plan has many risky points, one is even quite serious
What makes the Joker’s bank robbery so risky? The Joker’s bank robbery has many contingencies. Among other things, the bus cannot crash into the wall either too early or too late. However, the biggest factor that shouldn’t work is the composition of the crew and the mutual eliminations.
The YouTuber posits that no criminal would take the job if they know they have to eliminate someone from the crew, as one would assume they would be eliminated themselves. One member of the crew even mentions this himself at the end of the robbery, but one might ask why he came along in the first place.
Sure, one could argue that the desire for money was greater than the concern for one’s own safety. Seasoned criminals, like those at the beginning of the film, likely would not have taken that risk.
By tasking team members with eliminating each other, the overall trust in the operation would likely decrease. That would also be a factor to consider. The number of members is also a significant risk. Unlike in The Place Beyond The Pines, with too many partners, it is more likely that someone might slip up.
An expert also criticizes the bank robbery. In a YouTube video, the channel Insider had a former thief rate various film scenes based on how authentic
the scenes shown are. He also praises the film The Place Beyond the Pines and gives it a 9 out of 10.
However, for the bank robbery in The Dark Knight, he gives a 1 out of 10. This is mainly due to unrealistic aspects, such as the school bus that suffers no damage despite crashing through a massive wall. Of course, these are all aspects that do not diminish the enjoyment of watching. And even if his bank robbery isn’t fully brilliant
, Heath Ledger remains the most legendary Joker of all time. This is also due to his trademark: The Joker licking his lips in The Dark Knight has nothing to do with his past – it’s due to his costume
