love it!

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 2015)

I remember when this movie came out the hype was enormous. Coming off the success of Batman Begins which was indeed a solid origins story, fans were pumped for the next instalment and for good reason. Batman was to be facing off against his number one nemesis, the Joker. Some people were sceptical when Heath Ledger was given the role, A lot of people didn't think he could possibly pull it off in the wake of Jack Nicholson's zany version and of course the fantastic voice over work done by none other than Mark Hamill in the animated series. I did not let any of this cloud my judgement beforehand, being a die hard Batman fan myself I had huge expectations. Coupled with Ledger's untimely death just before it's release i knew that this film was going to be big in more ways than one. Coming out of the theatre I was thrilled. It was impossible not to love this movie. The Joker that Ledger provided was so dark and disturbing he wasn't even recognizable as the handsome young Australian we all remembered him to be. The Joker was the defining moment of Ledger's career and I am truly saddened that he will never get a chance to try and top such a performance. Ledger's performance aside, the film itself was in my opinion flawless. The building of the story was properly paced, dramatic and exciting where it needed to be without being over the top. I have always been drawn more to the darker, dramatic type filmmaking so I felt this film fit that bill. It was action packed without turning into a Michael Bay explosion fest and the rest of the actors managed to keep up to Ledger respectably enough (although one could argue he outshone them all slightly). This film has stayed with me as one of my all time favourites. I know that I am an easily pleased movie-goer and that not everybody will enjoy this film, and that is understandable because some people just can't be satisfied. Regardless of that, I would urge everybody to see this film!