A Masterpiece of Hope

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2008)

I saw the Dark Knight in IMAX theaters, fully awake, in the morning with 9 of my friends and family. The theater was packed and we were all spread out in pairs of groups of three. Does the Dark Knight deserve such a hype and success that follows it? Yes. In every way, this movie surpasses the hype and delivers on its promises. However, there are many things about it that aren't perfect. That being said, it is an epic film to be enjoyed for what it is, a beautiful tale of the Dark Knight and his world.
Batman is an iconic superhero who takes no shortcuts and never kills. In this movie you might question how the public reacts to what he does and what he is said to be doing, as well as his actual actions. What I mean is, wonder if the Batman and Bruce Wayne created by Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale is the Batman and Bruce Wayne of the real comic books. The other point that I want to make is about the Joker. Heath Ledger's acting is spot on, and he is marvelous in every way. While Bale struggles with his Wayne persona and Batman's crude voice (which at times becomes so low and muffled it's almost not believable anymore), Ledger's Joker is wiser and more fleshed out. If not for Heath Ledger, this movie wouldn't be a 9.3/10 on IMDb.com with over 125,000 votes, as it currently stands, but around the high 8s/10. Every actor was great, and the script was impressive, but the movie (although as a film is on par with every other classic or epic) is not perfect.
I enjoyed it. Hans Zimmer and James N. Howard's music is still stuck in my head days after the film, and the entire movie (thanks to Nolan and his team), is very memorable. It deserves to break Titanic's record (at last), and it deserves a bunch of Oscars, although the Oscars are just opinionated awards and not based on numbers, like a standardized test would be. The Oscars are not the Olympic gold, they are the opinionated Olympic gold of movies. Which means, don't feel bad if your favorite actor or crew member of a movie doesn't win one.
This movie deserves a 10/10 not because it's perfect but because it's great.