Well worth the year of hype.

Rating: 10/10 (21 July 2008)

The online campaigning for movies is a recent invention, and there are two kinds of movies that use this tool. The ones that use it, but don't live up to the hype they have put out there (Cloverfield). Or, movies that have so much hype, and surpass all of it with the real product.
Batman: Dark Knight is most definitely one of the latter. I participated in all of the online "scavenger hunts" that the Joker and the GCPD put up, and while I could have been doing something more worthwhile (term papers...) with my time, the online campaign did it's job. I haven't looked forward to a movie so much since Return of the King.
In terms of the actual movie, all I can really say is brilliant. It is a breath of fresh air after Batman movies of the 90's. Great acting, great storyline, and two of the best villain portrayals I have seen. Heath Ledger's "Joker" was in my mind the best portrayal ever. He made the Joker the perfect mixture of psychopath and comedian. There were times during the movie that had me laughing and thinking "Why am I laughing" at the same time. Christian Bale continues to excel in his roles, and I love the role he has given to Batman with this movie. The human over superhero feel is a much better and more real approach to the series, that I find refreshing.
Overall, my opinion is this movie may be the best movie of 2008.