Only movie I've ever wanted to see twice at the cinema

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 2008)

I'll start by saying this...Heath Ledger's death is neither the reason the film has been so successful nor is it the reason he deserves an Oscar. I went in to the cinema remaining totally indifferent and left seeing one of the best performances in a movie in recent times as well as one of the best films of the past ten years. The plot is well known by now so I'll steer clear of retelling the story. Every genre is hit throughout the film which really plays with the audience's emotions, The Joker is played out brilliantly balancing on the edge between scary and funny. The film's long but this is barely noticeable with it's fast paced perfect balance of dialogue and action. The Dark Knight breaks every superhero movie convention in the right way epitomised primarily with the films emotional ending. Many argue the film's biggest flaw is that Gotham looks like it's filming location, Chicago, however this works in the films favour, i feel placing the events in to our own world. Nolan's Batman series is the most believable of all superhero movies perhaps even more then most set in the "real world" as well. The films themes and meanings run as deep as the likes of Orwell, the good versus evil battle is done to a tear with more exploration of antithesis( anarchy and justice)then a book of opposites. A week actor can't be found amongst the cast, Bale's good and fits the role but the real standouts were Ledger and Eckhart and of course there's an excellent supporting cast with too many to name. None of the leads get enough screen time at least 5 hours would be needed to do them any justice. (I'd watch that movie but I'm not sure everyone would.) The script, the story, the acting, the directing, the score, the cinematography....practically everything in the film is flawless. As the heading to this review shows, it's the only film I'm ever seeing twice at the theatre and i feel i may enjoy it even more the second time.