Worthy of Knight-hood

Rating: 9/10 (16 November 2012)

'Why so serious?'
The late - and great - Heath Ledger was nothing short of an inspiration in 'Batman Begins' sequel, 'The Dark Knight', anchoring Christopher Nolan's already sublime movie a notch or two higher than it ought to be, boarder-lining on legendary status.
Ledger swooped into the role perfectly and delivered a masterclass which left fellow stars Aaron Eckhart, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gary Oldman in the shadows. By no means did the remaining cast fall flat, they were excellent, just not in the same vein as Heath. His portrayal of the Joker was phenomenally good, incredibly menacing and twisted, he rendered serial killer's from horror movies.
Ledger is the central to the film - the movie moves along with him. He attempts to bring chaos and anarchy to the streets of Gotham, transforming a city climbing out of its dark days, into a city of crime and deceit once more. The combined forces of Harvey Dent (Eckhart), Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), Commissioner Gordon (Oldman) and Batman (Bale) have maintained stability within the Gotham alleyways. However, as the mob release the clown, memories of chaos come flooding back.
While the Joker may be central to the film, the main character is actually Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent who's story is very intriguing and instrumental in how the film unfolds. For the comic readers, his fate is inevitable, for others, let 'The Dark Knight' absorb your attentions and give you its interpretation over what happens to Dent.
Strangely, the title 'The Dark Knight' certainly implies the main character would be Bale's Batman however, the talented actor is given a back seat by Nolan as Eckhart and Ledger steal the majority of the duration. That being said, Bale is always in the mix, or in and around almost every scene, just not as much as you would expect.
'Batman Begins' was a fine way to reinvigorate a dying franchise following Joel Schumacher's failings. 'The Dark Knight' is far from a fine movie. It's flawless - or as close to it as you could get!