The Dark Knight

Before I get started on a review I want to say something. First off, I think Heath Ledger was an absolutely amazing actor. I think he was sometimes underrated. I also think that, this was his best acting performance ever. He was wonderful and he will be missed. With that being said I just want to say that I am not taking his untimely death in to account with this review.



This was not only the best Batman movie to date, but possibly one of the best movies ever. For starters, Christian Bale is hands down the best Batman. He showed us that in Batman Begins and solidified that in this movie. He brings resounding darkness to Bruce Wayne and Batman unlike we have ever seen. Long gone are the days of goofy leather bound heroes and crackpot villains. This movie is powerful and real and it all starts with Bale. This Batman is deep and depressing. The double persona of Bruce Wayne and Batman begins to tear into his soul. Through the course of this movie he realizes the type of "hero" he must become in order to save Gotham.

As aforementioned, Ledger's Joker is stunning. He is also brilliantly terrifying. This Joker is much darker than Nicholson's role in 1989 Batman and Romero's role in the television series. This Joker is an "agent of chaos". He becomes Batman's arch-nemesis by consuming Batman's world in darkness and death. He is a sociopath, who coats himself in clown paint and is here to bring Gotham a "better class of criminal". Initially the Joker wants Batman to come clean with his true identity and he wants him dead, but later he becomes so enamored with the Caped Crusader that he doesn't want to kill him, because he says to him, "you complete me". Ledger is amazing, disturbing, terrifying and fascinating as possibly the best comic book villain of all time. His performance is worth the trip.

Aaron Echkhart really surprised me in his role as District Attorney Harvey Dent. He first allies himself with Batman and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) in order to bring justice to Gotham. He eventually becomes the disfigured Two-Face in a freak accident. This accompanied by a surprise death forces Harvey Two-Face over the edge. The duality of Two-Face is magnificently portrayed. With his trusty coin handy, Two-Face goes on a vigilante rampage intended to destroy(depending on a flip of the coin) those that have ruined his life.

Once again director Christopher Nolan brings us an amazing story, chock-full of interesting characters and excitement. The writing was amazing. The background and settings were beautiful. The acting was superb. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman all did an excellent job reprising their roles as Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox and James Gordon, respectively. The only slightly sore spot in the movie was Maggie Gyllenhaal. Not to say Maggie didn't do a good job portraying Rachel Dawes, her acting just wasn't as good as the rest of the cast. Now I know that this was a dynamite cast and the movie was near perfect, so I am not dogging her too badly.

All-in-all this movie was absolutely amazing. I may even go see it again and I never do that. It was almost perfect; we even got a surprise, albeit short, appearance from Scarecrow. If you liked the first one, you will love this one. If you haven't seen the first one, rent it immediately then go see this one. This movie will make you laugh, it will terrify you, it will make you scream a very Keanu Reeves like "whoa". And if you are a Heath Ledger fan, you might even shed a little tear.

I give this movie a very, very outstanding A.