Heath Ledger's Swan song

Rating: 8/10 (24 November 2013)

Dark as night and nearly as long, Christopher Nolan's new Batman movie feels like a beginning and something of an end. Pitched at the divide between art and industry, poetry and entertainment, it goes darker and deeper than any other Hollywood movie.Mr. Nolan has found a way to make Batman relevant to his time — meaning, to ours — investing him with shadows that remind you of the character's troubled beginning. That's nothing new, but what is surprising, actually startling, is that in The Dark Knight, which picks up the story after the first film ends, Mr. Nolan has turned Batman into a villain's sidekick.
That would be the Joker, of course,this character is one of the most heinous of the villains that has ever existed in any comic book.This character represents a theory about existence that part of me believes that all people wish we could embrace, in our own way. Don't start thinking I'm crazy just yet. Hear me out, as I explain one of the most intricate and complicated people who has ever appeared in fiction.
The Joker is a catharsis about the dark side of a part of us that we don't acknowledge – the part that doesn't want to obey the little niceties of society. There is a reason that characters like Gregory House and Eric Cartman are so popular. They represent the idea that we all, in some way, wish we could be a part of. They don't obey society's rules. They don't follow the set way of thinking. They do their own thing, and to hell with everybody else. Let's be honest, all of us wish that we could do that. But the Joker is part of the darker side of that way of thinking. Not only does he not want to follow the rules of society, but also he actively seeks to destroy the rules of society as we understand them. In his mind, chaos is the only actual truth in the world.We cannot deny the fact that Joker imprint strong impact on our conscious and subconscious existence.
It is ridiculous how much praise "The Dark Knight" truly deserves. Even the most elaborate descriptions feel like they're still not doing the movie justice. The film is for Batman fans, for Christopher Nolan fans, for fans of good storytelling, for fans of good writing, for fans of amazing cinematography, for fans of some of the strongest acting performances ever to be filmed, and for fans of action, crime, or dramatic films; long story short, the film can and probably will be enjoyed by anyone.
It is one of the only films to come out in recent years that not only lives up to the hype, but leaped over it and actually deserves every ounce of it. By the time you get to the end credits, you'll immediately want to see it again and you'll be just as excited the second time(and possibly third time) through. It's that good. These fingers can continue to praise this movie until they're purple from typing so much, but they'll leave it at this; it really was the movie of 2008. If it wasn't the greatest superhero film up until that point, it was at least the most captivating. It truly feels timeless and the type of film that'll stand up to greatness for eternity.