Heath Ledger makes you forget Jack ever played Joker!

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2008)

This is the first movie sense The Lord of the Rings movies that had mad, crazy, super hype and surpassed it. I thought it was getting hyped up for the wrong reasons (the tragedy). I had my doubts going into this film because everyone was talking about the Ledger. After seeing so many previews, after seeing the film and knowing what other films the actor was in, he NAILED the Joker.
I was happy that the film had more to offer than the preview had shown. It had some unexpected moments (which was good) and everyone one, and I do mean, everyone to include the bit players were wonderful in this movie. Nolan commanded and got some of the best work out of these people. Christian Bale just cemented that he is either better but no less than at the same level as Keaton's Batman and in the way, director Nolan film is better because it's more raw than Tim Burton's Batman. It doesn't seem like some faraway city. Kudos also goes to the City of Chicago for allowing Nolan to do whatever he wanted, so we have a lot less blue screen (cgi) effects and more realistic action sequences.
But the man of the hour, is Heath Ledger. Like in so many movies where the villain steals the movie, this is no exception. You can see and sense the insanity in Ledger's Joker. I mean Jack Nicholson played Jack in the first Batman, but who would have expected this demented performance out of Ledger. And it was a great performance without the over the top, maniacal campiness that actors tend to do when playing villains.
Now the only thing I wasn't crazy about was Batman's voice, it sounded a bit fake and it was hard to hear at times because it was so low. But that didn't take ANYTHING at all, away from the movie. This is a must to see on the big screen. I think its a must to see on the big screen twice and it's a must purchase on blu-ray when it's release. The movie runs about 2 hours and 45 minutes so be sure to take your bathroom break before the film start because you will not want to miss a minute.
Director/Writer Christopher Nolan has that special film makers touch. He screwed with out Heads with Memento. He dazzled us with The Presitge (another movie with Bale in it). He reinvigorated us with Batman Begins and now he stuns us with the well-crafted "Dark Knight". We all seen what could happen to a franchise in the hands of a lesser director (Batman Returns, Batman and Robin) and its nice to see something that takes your breath away. The Dark Knight will win lots of awards, but I think it already won the biggest, audience approval. Thumbs up for the Dark Knight.