Wow!

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2008)

The only spoilers here are regarding the Harvey Dent character. I wrote a review for Batman Begins a while back where I claimed it as being the Greatest Comic Book Film ever made and I was so cocky I decided to add NUFF SAID to that title. But that can no longer be true. The Dark Knight is not only the greatest Comic book Film to date, it is one of the greatest Cinematic Masterpieces of all time. In my honest opinion, it is the 4th greatest film ever made aside from; The Godfather, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and The Empire Strikes Back.
Lets start with the simpler things. Music is phenomenal. Zimmer and Newton Howard are able to capture the best music for each scene and each character. I absolutely love the soundtrack. Cinematography is outstanding. Filming is terrific. Direction by Christopher Nolan is terrific. He truly has a talent for creating a feel and style for a film and he does it better then ever in this film. I love dark films and this is best one ever. NUFF SAID! The story is out of this world extraordinary. One of the best stories ever written for a movie. The story itself is so good in that it is mostly about developing characters. The Nolans and Goyer are able to capture certain qualities of each character and develop them perfectly in the story. And NO major character is left aside. And by NO characters, I mean NO characters. For every major character in the film, each has certain characteristics that are perfectly utilized and most characters undergo perfect transformations or develop certain traits that are perfectly utilized in the story. They perfectly create the Joker and Two-Face characters. Non-stop action with exhilarating and electrifying scenes keep the viewer engulfed in the film. And the ending, oh my god, what an ending. The basic ideas represented in the ending are phenomenal. This film is perfect.
What can be said about the casting except phenomenal. Absolutely Phenomenal. I don't want to bother with the details but I find that two actors are worthy of recognition. Firstly, Aaron Eckhart. He was a phenomenal Harvey Dent. He had a lot of intensity on screen and you can tell he was committed to the character which is extremely important in that he plays a character who is very committed. But his true talents came with Two-Face. He portrayed the anger and vengeful duel side of Harvey Dent perfectly. He made the transformation from honest, hard-working protector to insane, vengeful villain exceptionally well. Well done, Mr. Eckhart. Should I even bother by saying who the other great actor is? Of course, it is Heath Ledger. Ledger is sadistic, psychopathic, scary, and absolutely, positively, 100% genuine insane. Ledger does not just outperform Nicholson. He makes Nicholson's character appear like a child's version. Ledgers voice, actions, movements; they all make him appear so much more dangerous then Nicholson ever could. He has some humor like Nicholson, but he has the scary effect. And we must remember, the joker is not just a comedian with a bad temper who commits silly crimes. He is an ill-fated individual with no remorse who cares nothing for the world around him and has a personality that could make a psychiatrist kill themselves. And Ledger not only captures that on screen, he completely emerges himself into that. Mr. Ledger, I congratulate you on one of the greatest performances by an actor in movie history.
Two-Face and the Joker are created perfectly for this film. Jack Nicholson and Tommy Lee Jones could not even match Ledger alone. Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart along with the Nolan's character development, make them the best villains in Comic Book Movies yet. And thanks for keeping Two-Face's duality. Unlike in Batman Forever where that characteristic is completely ignored.
"Why so Serious?" This film is one of the greatest films ever made. Seriously!!! This film is better then all other batmans put together. (To think, my friends girlfriend said this was not as good as Batman Forever.) This is a cinematic masterpiece. 2008 Oscars, here comes The Dark Knight. I can feel a Best Film nomination and Best Supporting Actor nomination for the man in the make-up.