Batman v/s The Joker

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2008)

Finally the wait is over. Quite obviously, 'The Dark Knight' is THE most waited film of Summer 2008. It is indeed an exciting action film but, in addition, it does delve deeper than the common action movies. What really makes 'The Dark Knight' stand out is the writing (especially the dialogues which are clever, amusing and thought-provoking), performances and of course, it is the skilled Christopher Nolan's direction that puts it all together, telling an exciting story. It's got substance and the themes are well presented. This time Batman's character is a lot more complex as he's faced with contradicting situations of which he has to make a choices. The character is a good 'continuation' from the prequel (where he's just started with the new identity whereas now he faces the disadvantages and complexities of being Batman).
While the writers deserve all the praise for brilliantly defining the characters, it is the actor's job to bring them to life and credit goes to Nolan for retaining most of the better actors of 'Batman Begins' (namely Bale, Freeman and the one and only Caine) and the new cast includes a host of great names like Eckhart, Gyllenhaal, Oldman and of course Ledger. Christian Bale excellently carries off Wayne/Batman. In my opinion, his Batman is much more convincing and intriguing than what Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney offered. Maggie Gyllenhaal is obviously a tremendous improvement over Katie Holmes (the worst thing in 'Batman Begins'). She maintains a great chemistry with Bale and Eckhart and is far from the typical damsel in distress. Aaron Eckhart is totally awesome and Gary Oldman, Eric Roberts and Michael Caine (always dependable) hold their own and do nothing short of a great job. A barely recognizable Heath Ledger delivers a memorable last performance. He reminded me of the late Brandon Lee in 'The Crow'. His Joker is menacing, wickedly funny, insane and cunning. I especially liked that he always said that he didn't plan anything (when this was clearly a lie).
The energy-filled action scenes are plentiful and well executed. The dramatic sequences are well balanced and convincing. The cinematography and sound effects are very effective and the score works fantastically.
The only downers for me were that the pace wasn't steady as it gets slightly slow towards the end. Bale's Batman voice was overdone. I can understand that the voice needed to sound different from Bruce Wayne's but this one sounded too awkward and too artificial. I would have liked to see how Rachel's death affected Batman. Nolan demonstrates well how it influences Harvey but not much of how Batman dealt with it (especially since it was the consequence of a choice he made). Yet, overall, it is a very well executed film that is darkly entertaining and exciting. I can understand why so many love it.