Excellence par none. Should be seen by anyone who wants to witness cinema in all of it's glorious perfection.

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2008)

If ever a comic book movie were to get a best picture nomination come February it would be The Dark Knight. To say this is just a comic book movie would not only be a disservice to the film, but an insult for this is much more than that. It is in essence an unbelievable film.
So few films in any genre strive, and fewer still attain the kind of beauty that The Dark Knight captures in every facet possible. From the taught script by Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan Nolan(with an assist by David Goyer) the movie barrels at break-neck-speed and never truly lets up. It is also very intelligent; pursuing ideas on what it means to be a hero and how Batman through his disregard of the law is just a decision or two away from being The Joker. It also manages to be a social commentary relevant to our time. It brings up moral issues like public surveillance and whether or not the public when stretched to the brink by a madman, will sacrifice anyone or anything for their safety and in a sense destroy what separates them from the very thing that makes up a cornerstone of our society; courage, hope, and compassion.
Now onto the performances. It is without a doubt that Heath Ledger's performance elevates this movie in such a way that without him, it would have been good, but with him is a gold standard. The way The Joker walks, talks, darts his tongue and licks his lips. Even the way he manages to alter the pitch and tone from high to low in a second shows craft that few other actors could accomplish. He truly becomes this character instead of just reciting lines. Others do amazing jobs. Christian Bale is the reliable rock of the movie and gives both he and Batman more depth as his character and alter ego are tested in every way possible. Michael Cane and Morgan Freeman get more to do and both have some fine speeches when advising Batman. Maggie Gyllenhaal is an upgrade from Katie Holmes and shows more grit and humanity in her role.
The action is amazing. Best of all it's mostly done with real pyrotechnics and stunt work. This isn't a George Lucas movie with 99% of the screen done by computer generated effects. Christopher Nolan has really elevated his already amazing game to heights I would not have imagined.
Simply put, this movie deserves every accolade, every good word-of-mouth review, and all of the awards I hope it collects throughout the year, especially come February. Yes Heath deserves his award and not because of his passing. If he were alive now, he would be picking it up himself when the time comes.
At the end of the movie last night when I was walking out of the theater, someone in a crowd waiting to get into the next screening asked me if the movie was good. I looked at him seriously, then smiled and quoted Michael Cane's Alfred from the movie and said "You have no idea".