The Best "superhero" film ever

Rating: 10/10 (16 July 2008)

I am a batman fan. Not a fanboy mind you, I have read the comics, seen the other films, and like batman story well enough, but unlike a few of my friends, I haven't been following the release for this movie like a bloodhound. But thanks to above mentioned friends, I have been passively looking forward to it. So we booked our tickets, got to one of the first showings in the world (I live in Australia) and got ready to see a movie that could not possibly live up to the hype that has engulfed the world. I was so wrong, so, so wrong.
This film stands so far above its predecessor it is on another planet. Nolans script is, like most of his movies, a complex and involving one. Unlike his some of his other films, the acting, story, cinematography etc all belong on the same pedestal. Never before have I felt the palm sweaty excitement of a gripping film take hold of me for a complete running time (and keep in mind this is 2 and half hours). The lack of CGI is one of the films biggest assets. The action feels gritty and real, involving you more than the graphics heavy iron man or Hulk ever did.
Id heard talk of Ledger being nominated for a posthumous Oscar but had thought it a silly move, why give awards to someone who cannot accept it? But his performance is mind blowing, creating one of the best villains ever to grace the screen. I don't know if an Oscar is the right way to do it, but his performance needs to be acknowledged for the masterpiece it is. Id heard a critic call this the "empire strikes back" of superhero films, and it really is the perfect comparison. This film proves that some "superhero" movies don't belong in a little niche, to be weighed against each other, not the "serious" films, but can instead be acclaimed as deep, involving and above all exciting works of film-making.