One of the greatest sequels ever made

Rating: 10/10 (17 July 2008)

When i witnessed the hype of The Dark Knight rising and all the images of Heath Ledger's joker and the campaign posters for Eckharts Dent Portrayal i thought only one thing. This could be one of those great sequels, you know the one's that overpower the original with acting and style, letting the depth of character overtake the explosions and bigger/better mentality of most sequels. (for example see, Godfather part 2, Empire Strikes Back etc)
After watching it i was proved right. First off. Making the Batman franchise a crime epic is a sure fire way of hooking in an audience, the level of style mixed with the origin of Batman, a dark inner turmoil character bent on making the future of a city a little bit brighter, and then pitting him against crime boss' and a maniac hit-man. This gives the movie a brilliant storyline. Then the storyline is flipped on it's head for having the Harvey Dent character become Batman's way out from all the wrong thing's that went with his path. (such as copycat innocent folk getting killed and vigilante justice not being as sweet as it seems).
The direction is as if Nolan was watching Heat and other Michael Mann flicks off set and taking that style, there's no definitive comic book feel to it, it's just pure grit.
The best thing about The Dark Knight is the haunting Heath Ledger, every scene he's in there is no way you can take your eye's off of him. until Two Face comes in, then it's a whole different story entirely. I just want to give a mention to the opening scene, it sets up a pure crime saga start and then later there's a scene that cannot be missed by any lover of great tracking shots. I'm annoyed i couldn't have witnessed it in an Imax theatre.
The Dark Knight is what comic book movies should have been, dark, moral, and entertaining as all hell. There's a little disbelief to be suspended, but who cares. One of the greatest sequels of movie history.