One of my favourite films

Rating: 10/10 (31 January 2012)

When 'The Dark Knight' was first released everyone was going to see it even if they hadn't seen the previous 'Batman Begins', simply because it was Heath Ledger's last completed role - and what a role it was. When you watch the film for the first ten minutes when you see Heath on screen you remember how he is sadly no longer with us and are reminded of the tragedy. However, when the Joker visits the mob and performs the 'pencil trick', Heath becomes the Joker. It's a rare occasion when you find a character so well performed that you forget it's an actor, but Heath did this astonishingly well.
It's hard to find a weak link in the acting in this film. Christian Bale adds an almost comical edge to Bruce Wayne with his hints of mockery when it comes to talking to or about Harvey Dent. Bale also performs Batman well despite the odd voice which you get used to.
Aaron Eckhart is another actor whose performance is excellent. His noble character of Harvey Dent is great but it's when he becomes Two-Face that you really see Eckhart's skill. It's a shame this side of his character is only shown for the final part of the film but he, like Heath Ledger, is able to totally immerse himself in the character.
The familiar characters played by Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are welcomed again in this sequel and Maggie Gyllenhaal's replacement of Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes is also not controversial and Maggie acts very well.
The script itself is full of twists and turns and leaves you gasping for the finishing half of the entire film. Christopher Nolan has done an excellent job with this film. Perhaps not his best ever script but it's definitely his best film so far, it will be difficult for him to create the sequel for this film as he has simply made an excellent film here which is difficult to beat.