The ultimate superhero movie?

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2015)

This is going to be a little personal.
Batman was my favorite superhero when I was a kid. He is one of the few superheroes that do not owe their powers to some pseudo-scientific event, which means that he is a believable superhero. Also he is dark, which I could identify with. The only problem I thought was that the movies were not serious enough. A lot of whimsical silliness.
I stopped caring about superheroes as an adult but then eventually I decided to give The Dark Knight a watch.
If I was still a kid, this would have been the movie that would make me as excited as a schoolgirl who was just asked out by the lead singer of her favorite boy-band.
The Batman in this one is dark and serious, and so is the entire tone of the movie. Batman's car is not some glowing rocket but a concept military vehicle that looks like a stealth jet. The explosions and fights look great. This whole film is a dark sexy stealth jet.
The acting is the next big reason to see the movie. Christian Bale as Batman is rather boring, which was especially shocking when I found just how much energy and range he can produce in his other movies. However, Batman is supposed to be that way - he is a dark background upon which other characters are painted and those other characters are really good.
I am not going to stay on Gary Oldman or Morgan Freeman for long. These guys are established as really good actors and they do what they need to.
The Joker. So, this is another thing I have to get personal about. I have had some psychological issues. The psychiatrist helped me a little, but...anyway, what's important is that Joker's motivations and philosophy presented throughout this movie echoed within me with scary realism. Not only that but I would argue that the Joker is right.
Played by Heath Ledger, the Joker is probably the best villain of all times. So much so that I wonder if the actor had some demons inside him which he called upon for this role.
The Dark Knight is the best Batman movie and probably the best super hero movie. That is all.