Is this one for the history books?

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2010)

After having seen TDK quite a few times now, I decided to go for making a review of it. Since there is so much detail to go into, I will be mostly relating to the acting and character development features.
As a movie TDK has set some new standards in the superhero genre. It is darker, more realistic and also more psychological than any predecessors.
This puts a lot of pressure on the cast to perform these vivid and lovable characters with a truth and understanding. First of all this is done in the film through the dialog, which is superbly written by Jonathan Nolan. But text cannot act, and therefore we end up at the cast.
Firstly we must take Christian Bale and his portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Not only does he create a believable display of his mental struggle of being the masked avenger. He also gets to display the other side of the character as Bruce Wayne to a very credible level. With a continuing aura of arrogance and self-confidence. Not to mention a few observant comment that gets to portray that he does have a certain understanding about running a successful business.
Heath Ledger as The Joker. Better take a big breath before this one. The role is played with realism and takes the character to heights I think few would have thought. Even though this is done with amazing acting by Ledger, then it is also a great tribute to Christopher Nolan's understanding of the character and his wish to let the character flourish as what he really is. A pathological madman with a desire for terror and anarchy. Thank you to Mr. Nolan for this, and thank you very much Mr. Ledger for having created a villain to be envied by fans and movie makers alike for many years to come. As a memory of a great man once again portraying a difficult and ground-breaking character.
To join up with Bale against the dark forces we see Gary Oldman, who once again gives great credit to the character and delivers new depths as we see his "alleged" death on screen only to see him rise again.
But this time around we get to see a new character in this alliance. With Aaron Eckhart portraying Harvey Dent we get a "White Knight" to stand opposite our beloved caped hero. The character is pretty straightforward even though we get a twist towards the end, as Harvey returns from a near-death experience as Two-Face. There has been many applauding comments to Eckhart's portrayal of Dent, but I will also give him some special credit for giving us a realistic and believable transformation from Dent to Two-Face that does not seem corny.
Maggie Gyllenhaal gives us a more credible Rachel, while there cannot be put a finger on the acting of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, both with very convincing performances and a perfect supplement to Bale.
Last I will just give my opinion on the discussion about whether or not the third film should be the last or not. It is my opinion that you cannot judge this before having seen the fourth. Thereby meaning that It is almost impossible to judge a movie that has not been created. If the third movie is anywhere near this one or "Begins" then I will gladly wait for a fourth. To me it is all about the cast and crew. If they believe that they can keep up with the story and do it justice, then there can be fifty films for what I care. Why stop something because you are afraid to make a poor continuation? Will it make TDK worse if the third movie is poor? Not to me. So to me they could make the movies until they make a poor one, and then stop. If we command them to stop at three, we might miss out on several great movies. So continue as long as you got the power, inspiration and ability to create something worth watching in this franchise, Mr. Nolan.
And finally to me this is definitely a film for the history books because of great acting, writing and directing.