Heath Ledger steals the show.

Rating: 10/10 (6 October 2016)

There are several aspects about the Dark Knight that make it stand apart from other superhero films, but the most iconic feature of the movie is Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. Though not the first to take up the mantle of the Batman's most infamous super-villain, Heath Ledger's take placed the character in a considerably darker and more mature light. The more traditional versions of the Joker offered audiences a dastardly, unpredictable clown with a white paint-plastered face, and while Heath Ledger's Joker is indeed unpredictable, he is definitely no clown. In full costume Ledger stands with a hunched posture in a purple suit, a face covered in white makeup, and an unnerving red smile painted across his lips and cheeks. The overall image is haunting, but what truly sets this act apart is in the monologues of Ledger's Joker. His words are not those of a wise- cracking psychopath, but those of precise and dangerous serial killer. "I'll show you," Ledger tells co-star Christian Bale (the Batman) in one scene. "When the chips are down, these civilized people...they'll eat each other." The Dark Knight may very well be the greatest superhero movie of all time, and it's all because of the talents of Heath Ledger. He's not crazy. He's just ahead of the curve.