Personal Favourite due to Heath Ledger

Rating: 10/10 (8 March 2014)

A very well done and a personal thank-you to Christopher Nolan for making in my opinion, the greatest superhero movie of all time. The Dark Knight is hands down the best film of 2008 and is a personal favourite of mine. Everything about this masterpiece amazed me; from the engaging script to the incredible award-winning performances. It has every element you'd want from a movie, which captures you with such allure.
It had me at that fantastic moment where the bus reversed into the bank. This exposition was one of the finest; instantly roping me in with the amazing use of camera angles in the first moment and the mystery of the story and characters within these opening minutes. The film is highly script and character driven. Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathon have written a highly complex and solid script with sharp dialogue to accompany the brilliant performances. The action and drama are perfectly balanced and is the centre of the conflict during the movie.
Although it is a follow-up from Nolan's first Batman movie: Batman Begins (2005), which is also a very good movie, this is most certainly the best Batman movie to date. But in this flick, Gotham is a place of good versus evil. There is a new villain in town and he's not playing by the rules. The Joker, played by the greatly missed legend, Heath Ledger is hands down the best thing about this movie. He wants to take over as Gotham's leader, which causes Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) and Batman (Christian Bale) must come together to stop this wicked clown before he causes a time of social unrest for their city.
As for the performances, Nolan couldn't have casted better talent. Bale takes on the dual role of the Batman and industrialist Bruce Wayne. Bale proves himself in this movie and is much better than the previous actors playing the Batman role. He was a great choice of actor; being a natural and already blowing everyone out of the water in Batman Begins, he continues to bring the character to life. Although Bruce Wayne is covered beneath a mask for a lot of the time, he is still able to convey everything he needed to with just half of his face.
Eckhart plays and nails the character of DA Harvey Dent, a district attorney who wants justice and to bring down all the criminals of Gotham City. He makes Dent his own and is very admirable as a good guy. After the Joker has had his way with him, Eckhart makes us feel Dent's anger and pain through his performance as Two Face. Dent and Wayne's love interest, Rachel Dawes is played by the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal, who takes over and gives a much stronger and better show than Katie Holmes previously. Gyllenhaal gives depth and has substance, making the audience build a rapport with her character and manipulates us emotionally into caring for her.
Leaving the best till last is the amazing and terrific Heath Ledger. Ledger gives the most outstanding Oscar nominated performance and completely steals the show. Giving me constant thrills, chills and goose bumps, his performance as the psychotic Joker is highly disturbing yet simply astounding. He created certain mannerisms (licking his lips) to define his psycho character. His voice and way of speaking was perfect for the maniac who gets kicks out of inflicting pain on others. With his lunatic laugh and malicious wicked manner, he successfully sets the tone for this dark movie about a world that has gone nuts. Ledger is a daring and extraordinary actor who perfects his character and I don't think I'll have any disagreements when I say I cannot picture any other actor who could have done a better job; the act is master class and most definitely his best throughout his career. It is completely mesmerising.
Putting the amazing cast and performances aside, this is a big movie. There are thrilling and intense action scenes such as the heist in the exposition and the high-speed car chases. I'm not a massive fan of action movies but these scenes kept me on the edge of my seat, completely indulged in each minute of the brilliant and exhilarating action visuals that shouldn't be missed under any circumstance. Although these scenes are captivating, even the quieter moments in the movie are equally as engaging.
The main theme in the movie, aside of good versus evil, is sacrifice and justice. Sacrifice is shown through Batman and Dent's characters where they both make self-sacrifices for the city. Batman is willing to sacrifice his good name in order to protect the people. All Dent wants is justice, and to take down the criminals of Gotham City.
I could speak and write about The Dark Knight all night. It will certainly take a lot of work to make a film that will knock this off the top spot for me; it will stand out for a very long time. It is a brilliant and chilling masterpiece that would be criminal not to watch.