The Incredible Dark Knight

Rating: 9/10 (18 July 2008)

I think the word incredible is on the wrong comic book movie this year. When everybody was making a big deal about Heath Ledger's death earlier this year, I was thinking: "Big deal. He is some Hollywood actor that has very little influence on my life." As I walked out of the midnight screening of The Dark Knight last night, I was disappointed when it sunk in that I would not be able to see him reprise the roll in a sequel. Even after sitting through a run-time of over 150 minutes, I was still ready to watch more Joker. As I walked out of the cinema, I felt like I was walking out of a funeral. Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker is phenomenal. He is so frighteningly demented that I almost felt guilty laughing at him.
Some of the best laughs go to Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. As usual, they also turn in stunning performances. All of the main characters did a fantastic job. The movie maintains its intensity very well. It not only kept my attention, but like Christopher Nolan's Memento, I was ready for a second viewing immediately after finishing the first.
The only problem that I had with this film is that I had a hard time believing that the boatloads of people would have made the choices that they made given the dilemma presented to them by the Joker. Until that moment, the film had suspended my disbelief and I was really buying the Gotham myth. Overall, that was such a trivial part of what went on in the film that it is not even worth dropping the film a star over. This film ranks among the best films ever made.
This is not Batman for the kids though. Despite my children's' protests, I do not think I will be letting them view this yet. The hero and the villains are the stuff that nightmares are made of.