Gritty & Unapologetic

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2008)

It took me until I woke up this morning to realize the awesomeness of this picture, which I saw last night at midnight. Without spoiling anything, just know that this movie is gritty and complex with a huge amount of depth in both the plot and the characters. It's extremely uncompromising as far as how one would think a major studio would handle a major comic book hero franchise. Most superhero/comic book movie plots' are set up for the sole purpose of creating a franchise and selling it to death. This is the opposite (not saying the conclusion doesn't beg for more answers, story & resolution). However, it's extremely unapologetic in the plot and characters and just goes in ways that you wouldn't expect a comic book movie to go. It's mature and adult like, you forget it is even a comic book movie. It's in your face from the moment it starts until the after the credits roll. The 2 1/2 hour runtime appears long, but the plot captivates you from the start and won't let you go. There's nothing that can be cut away from this film, as it would undermine the complexity and richness of the plot and characters.
Ledger is better than you could have imagined, as is Eckhart! Bale, Oldman, Caine, Freemon...amazing!! Go see this movie. It is the best film of the last two years and one of the best of all time!!