The legend of Ledger

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2009)

It's just a Batman movie right? A silly little comic book movie. Destined to be enjoyed but not taken particularly seriously. Wrong. So very, very wrong. The Dark Knight is the rare film which transcends its genre. You don't have to qualify things by saying it's a great comic book movie or a great summer popcorn movie. It's a great movie. Period. It may not be the best movie ever made as some overly enthusiastic fans may like you to believe. But it's in the ballpark. And for all that this fantastic film has going for it one thing stands out and that is the award-winning performance of the late Heath Ledger.
Similarly to the Nicholson/Keaton dynamic of the 1989 film it is the actor playing The Joker who outshines the actor playing Batman. And as with the earlier film that is no knock on the actor portraying Batman, in this case Christian Bale. There is nothing bad to be said about Bale, it's just that Ledger's performance is simply stunning. He has created one of those iconic movie characters who will be remembered for all time. Darker, more sinister and infinitely more terrifying than Nicholson's Joker ever was Ledger's Joker grabs hold of this movie right at the start and never lets go. The terribly sad fact that Ledger passed away before the film was ever released probably only adds to the mystique and aura that will forever surround this character. Ledger's performance rightly goes down in the annals of movie history as one of the greatest ever. Legendary.
While Ledger may steal the show pretty much everything else about the film works perfectly. One iconic character does not make a great movie. Here everything which surrounds Ledger comes together to produce something truly wonderful. Bale's quiet, brooding portrayal of the film's hero may be overshadowed by the manic intensity of the film's villain but he plays Bruce Wayne and Batman the way they have to be played. A fine job even if it often seems his is the supporting role and Ledger's the lead rather than the other way around. Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman all return from Batman Begins and fall back into their roles seamlessly. Katie Holmes has been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal in the critical role of Rachel Dawes and that's certainly an improvement. If it was hard to take Holmes seriously as an assistant district attorney that is not a problem this time around as Gyllenhaal provides a much stronger portrayal. Aaron Eckhart portrays the district attorney Harvey Dent, a man who any fan of the Batman saga knows is destined to have a rather interesting journey in the course of the film. It's a rather complex character to portray and Eckhart, like pretty much everyone around him, is spot-on brilliant.
So it's not just Ledger, the whole cast is terrific. And so is everything else. The film is wonderfully written and directed. The cinematography is breathtaking, with the IMAX sequences taking things to a whole other level. The music fits perfectly, adding to the tension with what is an always powerful and at times truly haunting score. The effects are fabulous yet you never get the sense they're overdone as everything seems real and believable. Two and a half hours and this film leaves you breathlessly wanting more. This is no ordinary comic book movie. It's a movie which will stand the test of time. Everyone involved with the film can rest easy with the knowledge that they have created something truly special.