WOW. I mean, WOW.

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2008)

This is honestly the best film i've seen in many many years.
Acting? Superb. Heath Ledger really gets into the character of the Joker. He was so convincing and captured and held the audience in his hands. Especially with his tricks and witty disguises, such as the nurse, etc., it was like waiting for a monster to jump out at you any second. Christian Bale is an amazing Batman, and really plays the hero-guardian well, his emotions well displayed. Aaron Eckhart makes a convincing hero-gone-villain, and Maggie Gylenhaall is the icing on the cake with a wonderful, graceful performance.
The plot was so well done, it was hard to believe that it was just a movie. The way the Joker gets into your mind...unbelievable. I was shaking in my seat the whole two hours and thirty minutes. They even manage to get a few laughs here and there because of the Joker's eccentric and witty, yet dark antics.
*HERE BE SPOILERS!* As dark as it may sound, I also love how the end is left for the audience to think about - it's not a sunshine-and-rainbows, happy-go-lucky ending about the end of the Joker and the resurrection of Two-Face. No. The ending is dark and pessimistically illustrated as the beginning.
And it's not just a story about comic book characters killing each other, conquering, and overpowering, but also connects with the human heart as well. "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Step aside, Spiderman, The Dark Knight wins it all.
I'm definitely getting this DVD when it comes out. It will change how you see comic book movies - if not movies in general at all - forever. This is NOT a typical summer time-waster of a blockbuster.
Sometimes, I wish IMDb had over 10 star ratings, for these kinds of superb, excellent, movies. Best two hours and thirty minutes of my summer. Best movie of the summer.
11/10