Nolan certainly is our knight in shining armour.

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2008)

From the moment i sat down, to the moment the credits began to roll i was gripped. Nolan certainly knows how to push the right buttons to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
The plot was beautifully orchestrated, and it was well thought out as the finished product shows. Gotham's in a state of distress (as always) with the mob trying to plant their money in Hong Kong, whilst at the same time trying to keep one step ahead of the police, and Batman who are forever foiling their dodgy dealings. However, there's a new kid on the block, who calls himself 'The Joker', who's robbing banks left right and centre, causing mayhem, and pissing off the mob, as it's their money he's robbing.
Meanwhile, we have a little love triangle, where the new DA Harvey Dent has taken a fancy to Rachel Dawes, much to Bruce Wayne's sadness. As usual, Wayne tries to keep up the playboy billionaire image, but fundamentally longs for his childhood sweetheart. Yeah, OK it's a little clichÃ©, but it really takes a backseat compared to the rest of the story.
OK, so the basics aside, the mob hire the Joker to kill the Batman, but of course, our caped crusader won't go down without a fight. And he manages to get all the mob imprisoned, so... the Joker has to go after the people who put his employers in jail i.e. Dent and Dawes. The Joker demands to know who the real Batman is, killing people left right and centre to provoke an emotional response from out hapless hero. I shan't reveal anymore, don't want to ruin the entire movie for you.
The script, ah yes, the script. Well, Bruce/Batman (hope i didn't spoil the surprise) really hasn't got much to say, no witty lines or anything, but then again he is meant to be the strong silent type. Harvey Dent indeed has been blessed with all the political waffle any politician should be armed with, but the real juicy lines go to Ledger. And so they should, he has the most interesting character in the film 'Why so serious?' Nevertheless, the script is strong enough, but the film is not so much about what you hear but what you see. Indeed it is a visual treat.
Some of the shots are breathtaking, such as Bale's skyscraper jumps, and the action, boy does that keep you entertained. What impressed me most was that the film was stunning to look at, without the often overused aid of CGI, which added another dimension of realism to the film.
Now, onto the acting. I shall be honest and go with the flow, Ledger steals the show. He really is monumental as the Joker, and Nicholson can really be cast into the shadows. Everything about his character is believable, and you can see how immersed he really is in the role. He even has a crazy-man's walk (see nurse's uniform scene). I could certainly understand why there's so much Oscar buzz around him. However, let us not forget the rest of the cast, Bale as always delivers a strong performance worthy of great acclaim. He manages to portray a troubled hero, with his own psychological demons, which again adds to the reality of the movie. He certainly manages it better than Michael Keaton / Val Kilmer / George Clooney ever could. Maggie Gyllenhaal creates another dimension to the character of Dawes, and adds a real sultry charm, and is much better suited to it than Katie Holmes (who quite frankly single-handedly managed to flaw Batman Begins). Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine always give good performances, although they manage to play themselves almost all the time now, which isn't a bad thing.
Nolan showed himself as a big time director who means business with Mememto, and since then he has gone from strength to strength. The test of a good director is to make the sequel live up to the standard of the original, and he has done this with flying colours, and has even surpassed my expectations. It's just a shame the Acadamy would never take this film as a serious nominee because it's a comic book movie. Nevertheless, Nolan doesn't need a gold statuette to realise his true greatness!