Sir Heath takes the Bat to epic standards

Rating: 9/10 (5 January 2009)

When I first saw the online trailer of The Dark Knight, my wife said "so do you reckon the movie would be that good, the man bettering Jack N's Joker, or its just a well made trailer trying to cash in on Ledger's legacy?" Not really a fanboy, I just ignored the question shrugging my shoulders.
I am glad to say that now, I can answer the questions in a major affirmative: yes, the movie is that good; Heath Ledger makes Jackie boy's portrayal campy. And thank God that for once the hype created for a superhero movie by Warner Bros. doesn't just live up to it, but far exceeds it! What does this review have new to offer? Nothing really. Just that I had forgotten to post it on IMDb when the movie had come out, so finishing off my to-do list!!!
One wishes that there be a spin-off graphic novels based on The Dark Knight, not the other way around; its far superior to 'The Killing Joke' and 'Death in the Family'. For Gotham looks and feels like a real city, with real people and real emotions. This is a complete movie and you start feeling for the characters, you wait with baited breathe for your hero to succeed and you don't ridicule the villain, nor do you empathise with him: quite simply, you're very scared of him. You shiver every time he says "WHY SO SERIOUS! " The plot is fairly straight forward and perhapssplashed all over the internet. Here's a quick recap: The last good cop Lieutenant Gordon and Batman, assisted by his Man Friday Alfred and able brain man Luscious Fox are on a cleaning spree, joined by the new District Attorney Harvey Dent (who is, btw, dating Bruce Wayne's ex-flame Rachel Dawes) and whilst all the bad boys are being put in jail, the Joker makes an offer to the underworld to kill Batman. Quite simply, he won't do something that has a price for free. People die, Batman's insecurity and vulnerability is brought to the fore, the Joker bleeds yet laughs; and as our hero undergoes it all, we hope and pray that the movie never comes to an end! Late Heath Ledger is simply outstanding as the Joker. He's eight steps ahead of everyone-including the trying-to-workout-the-plot-smarty audience. There is no denial that he deserves an Oscar nod, and if posthumous Knighthoods are bestowed, sign me up for the petition to get him one. He's crazy, psychotic, calculating, and makes the audience think forever as to what is up his sleeve. His portrayal instills fear even with a pencil! At the expense of probably being the one-billionth person saying it, Heath Ledger's Joker surpasses all hype & expectations, is way better than Jack Nicholson's take on the same character and makes the world realize what a great actor we've lost.
It's hard to put the rest of the cast in the same level as Ledger, but everyone does brilliantly. Had this been any other movie, probably right now everyone would be rooting for Christian Bale and Gary Oldman's magic on screen. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Maggie Gyllenhall are so perfect that you possibly can't imagine other actors playing these characters. Aaron Eckhart is efficient, but just leaves the audience a little wishing-for-more from Harvey Dent/Two Face. One wonders if Good Will Hunting Matt Damon would've scored the areas that Eckhart missed on.
If there is one person who matches Heath Ledger here is the Director Chris Nolan. Take a bow, Chris, as you have truly created a masterpiece, without compromising on the comic book charm or the tragic hero pathos, or the twists and thrills we have known and loved you for. Thank you for rescuing Batman, and giving the movie colour you did! Please don't stop here, and we look forward to your final instalment in this trilogy All in all, it's a wonderful movie. A movie that deserves respect and admiration, more importantly repeat viewing to fully appreciate the little tricks that Nolan has left.
As I sign off, once more, my salutes to Heath Ledger, the actor, who's swansong is this magnum opus, and May You Rest in Peace, Sir Heath!