Beyond a comic book movie, and more of a masterpiece in filmaking

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2008)

Brilliant. Just pure, absolute brilliance. The Dark Knight is, above and beyond, and greatest (super)hero to ever be conceived of. It's been hyped up for over a year, with a strong and aggressive marketing structure, and after walking into the theater and walking out, all I have to say is you haven't seen nothing yet until you see this movie for yourself.
Christopher Nolan is the brains behind this masterpiece. His complex and thorough ideas shifted the Batman franchise from weighted failure (not Burton's version, more like Schumacher's) to critically successful. Starting with Batman Begins, he gave the series new life by showing a side of Bruce Wayne/Batman that we've never seen before. The same can be said with The Dark Knight.
The plot carries right after Batman Begins. Bruce Wayne continues to subdue and eliminate the scum of Gotham City, criminal by criminal, and with the help of Harvey Dent aka "The White Knight of Gotham City", they come close to achieving it. But when a new villain called The Joker enters the scene chaos, death, greed, and lies begin to unfold. And soon Bruce must find a way to stop the Joker before he rises to ultimate power and prove to Gotham that Batman is more than just caped crusader.
After the untimely death of the late great actor Heath Ledger, the film received more hype from not just Batman fans, but also Ledger fans as well, much like my older sister. She fell in love with nearly all of his movies, and she counted down to the very last second to see this, even though she doesn't know anything about Batman. Heath's performance as the Joker was, in every sense of the word, horrifying. When I heard he passed away, I mourned that The Dark Knight would get canceled. But after dying nearly six months before the movie was released, just seeing him on screen gave me a haunting sense that I was watching an angel play a villain. I pray that he wins an Oscar for best supporting actor, or least nominate him for doing such an overly outstanding job at portraying the Joker.
Aaron Eckhart did as much of a awesome job as Heath did. His portrayal as Harvey Dent was PERFECT. Tommy Lee Jones has got nothing on Eckhart. Eckhart brings a more prepared and live Dent than in Batman Forever. In Forver, Harvey was a more disillusioned psychopath that killed people for fun. But in TDK, he's a more developed and complex character, with certain goals and no limits. And his transformation into Two-Face is by far the most intriguing and powerful moment within the film, because we see an innocent man who believed in saving Gotham from evil and turning it into a haven, and is now turned into this man who has seen the ugly side of life, much like what Bruce experienced when his parents were killed, and instead of turning into a vigilante, also much like Bruce did, turns into something that perpetuates and blurs the lines between evil and insanity. And although Two-Face may not be the main-main villain of the film, he still brought a good portion of the atmosphere that The Dark Knight had.
The Dark Knight has it's share of awesome moments the define it. Nearly every single second it worth watching. Cinematography was amazing, mostly in Chicago, of which I only live 63 miles away from. The action is fully delivered in a more dynamic way than in Batman Begins.
I liked the fact that the film lasted for about a good 2hrs and 30min, but at some points they should of went for the 3 hour mark. Now I know that may sound a little TOO much, but it would be worth seeing more of Eckhart in action as Two-Face. But thats just my opinion.
The Dark Knight is'nt just a comic book movie, but more of a well played drama with spectacular action sequences, with flawless acting sprinkled all over. And I'm also speaking out for Batman Begins. Both movies prove that comic book movies can be so much more than just themselves.
There is a line in Batman Begins and it is "Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up." And in truth, what both of these masterpieces have done has forever changed the way Batman will be. The franchise fell on its knees in the early days (again Schumacher, not Burton), and picked itself up in the new millennium.
Both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight aren't Batman movies in my eyes, but a more stylized way at how we achieve things by taking the initiative into our own hands and making it mean something.
This review was written in memory of Heath Ledger, April 4, 1979 - January 22, 2008. R.I.P. Heath Ledger and thank you so much for the God-given talent to perform in the movie industry.