The Movie grabs you by the neck, and you will like it

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2008)

It always happens with movies, before one is released, we have sneak peeks, trailers, posters and more that invoke interest for the fans and non fans alike. The anticipation reaches fever pitch and we moviegoers become so hungry for the movie in its totality that our hunger can only be shunned by watching it. But sometimes, the expectations from a movie are so high that even if it is good, truly good, we still think in our minds that it could have been better, we find something missing. And then there are movies like The Dark Knight. I had seen Batman Begins and thought, Christopher Nolan had single handedly picked a comic book superhero from under the dusty shelf, cleaned him up and put him right up where he would be thoroughly appreciated. So my expectations for The Dark Knight, after watching the trailers were more, than usual. I was a hungry wolf, one that hadn't eaten warm flesh for a long, really long time. But after sitting through 152 min of TDK, I was stuck for words. Here is a movie that caught be by the neck, didn't let me move or breathe and it felt good. Nolan's latest had surpassed all of my expectations, not by a few miles but by light years. Right from the first scene with the camera swooping in on the jokers in trademark Nolan style, with brilliant engaging background score by Hans Zimmers, to the gripping climax, my brain cells were constantly being overwhelmed as my heart forgot to beat let alone maintain its rhythm. Heath Ledger as the Joker trounced some of the best performance by the great actors of today and yesteryears. This is what acting is all about, Heath made the audience feel for him instead the Batman. He injected that lethal dose of madness on to every person watching the movie, including me and left us thinking. Jack Nicholson, you were good, but sorry, really, Heath is truly what the Joker is all about --- an unimaginable personification of madness, lunacy, and fearlessness, a character that cannot be charted. Heath's performance was so gripping that, his character felt like the main lead instead of the Batman himself. Christian Bale nevertheless did a great job again as the caped crusader. I won't talk about the other characters because, I am still unable to think beyond Heath Ledger's performance and Nolan's flawless direction. More importantly I need to catch the next show, and watch the movie for the third time since its release. Just go watch TDK, it truly is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Watch it for its mind-numbing stellar direction. Watch it for its great performances by each of the perfectly defined characters. Watch it for its brilliant background score. Watch it even if you aren't a Batman fan. But most importantly watch it for Heath's performance as the Jokerwhy so serious?