The Best film of 2008!

Rating: 10/10 (21 August 2008)

Director Christopher Nolan had a very difficult task ahead of him once he decided to make a sequel to his hit Batman Begins in which he had created a new Gotham City much different from the previous franchise. With a great performance from Christian Bale we got to see a new and more realistic Batman and a much more interesting Bruce Wayne. The question everyone was asking was whether or not Nolan could match what he did with the first film in this sequel. Nolan had already created a new Gotham City, but could there possibly be anything new he could add in the Dark Knight that we hadn't seen in the first one? Or would this be one of the many franchise films that are ruined by sequels that should never had been made? These questions are answered right away for us viewers from the opening scene when a bank robbery is taking place and we are introduced to the new character, the Joker. We had seen how great Bale was as Batman and we also had seen the performances from Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman who all gave a new dimension to their characters (and continue to be great). But what sets The Dark Knight apart from Batman Begins and gives it a new and fresh look is the introduction of the villain, the Joker, played by the late Heath Ledger. Ledger gives an inspiring and Oscar worthy performance in his role as the immoral, evil, and violent Joker. One cannot explain or understand crime and violence and that is what Ledger represents as the Joker, an individual who does things for reasons that we cannot comprehend. It is hard to rationalize what is going on in his mind and why he commits all the atrocious crimes in the same way we could never understand the true criminals in our days. Another new character in this film is the highly moral and loyal Harvey Dent played by Aaron Eckhart. He symbolizes everything the Joker does not. He is all about good and fighting crime, he is the voice of reason over emotion. This is where Nolan goes right and gives the franchise a fresh look, focusing on the new characters and giving them greater dimensions than the previous ones we were already introduced too in Batman Begins. This movie franchise is much more than special effects and action, it is about creating interesting and complex characters and underlying a message of the struggle between good and evil in our society. I have to admit that along with Iron Man these two are the best superhero movies ever made. The sequel is not only as good as Batman Begins but in my opinion superior thanks in most part to Heath Ledger who added an entire new dimension to a well known character as the Joker. This film is not about Batman, its about the Joker and the struggle between finding the evil in everyone or finding the good. Heath Ledger is this movie as much as Robert Downey Jr. was the movie in Iron Man. My favorite film of the year which in my opinion is much more than entertaining, it is complete.