If the votes went up to 11, I'd give this movie a 100

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2008)

Somehow you knew seeing the trailers that this movie could possibly be one of the best ever but you tell yourself, "Nah, you're just buying the hype." Well it's better than it's hype and when nominating movies for best-movies-of-all-time lists you have to let it cool for a while, but I wouldn't be surprised if this went down in history as one of the big ones.
We'd all heard that Heath was amazing in this and it's absolutely true. It wasn't like he was acting. It was like the Joker was leaking out of his pores. Because not only was he absolutely this character, but the character he created is in itself a masterpiece. Of course you have to also give credit to the Nolans who wrote the character. The way that this written character and this actor came together to create a whole other kind of being will have to be explained scientifically someday. And I'm sure I won't even understand the explanation because it's close to something I stopped believing in a long time ago, and that's magic. They caught lightning in a bottle if you will. You'll have to see it to believe it.
But here's the problem with a performance like this, it can blow the other actors out of the water. But in an amazing feat by the entire cast, no one is left out to dry. Everyone is tip-top. And one of my favorite actors, Aaron Eckhart, does such wonderful work in this. It's almost sad that he won't get more attention for it because the focus is on Heath, but I'm sure eventually everyone will come around. Harvey Dent goes through so much. I can't explain further without spoiling, but Eckhart went through a full range of emotion in this film. There is a scene with him and Heath that is already one of my favorite scenes ever. Remember the restaurant scene in 'Heat'? Well, it's kid stuff compared to this one. That's right, I said it.
Now let me say something about Christian Bale. I think he may possibly be the best actor of his generation. And in this film he allows everyone else to take the shine. Don't get me wrong. He does the work and does it well but some other actors might be threatened and you'd notice some histrionics to garner the spotlight, especially when they're the title character, but not Bale. His slow and steady Batman was like the rock holding everything in place. Like Alfred is to Bruce Wayne, Bale was to his other actors.
Assembling such an outstanding cast, writing such an intricate film, and directing the whole thing is Christopher Nolan, who is now officially one of my favorite directors. I loved 'The Prestige'. On repeated viewings, it still knocks me on my butt. I was shocked at how high I had to include that film on my all time favorites list (yes I keep a list). Usually it takes me a while to bump something up out of respect to the other films but I thought it was brilliant and couldn't help myself. Well, I'm not even going to attempt to crack open my list for 'The Dark Knight' for a while. I fear for my top ten. The imagery, the music, costume design are all perfect. I mean there had to be something wrong with it right? I did have one complaint. But realizing that the plot point in question may not be what it seems, means I can't even complain about that. What I think happened may have not happened and even if it did then it's just a matter of preference and doesn't have anything to do with how insanely stupendous and awe-inspiringly magnificent 'The Dark Knight' is.
Who shouldn't see this movie? People with no senses. Maybe that one guy or gal you hate, so they won't get to enjoy such a gift. It's been 5 days since the first time I saw it, 1 since the second and I haven't stopped talking about it. I can't stop saying words like "best" and "ever" and "amazing". I'm going to wish as hard as I can that the Academy will decide that they need an award for Best Cast this year before it's too late. It's early but I'm hoping this at least gets a Best Picture nomination. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd like to see a doctor's note.