Why So Serious?

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2008)

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker.
If you read my review for "Journey to the Center of the Earth," you should know that I didn't get to see "The Dark Knight" on IMAX the week it was released. This week, I was lucky enough to buy tickets to see the last screening for this film on IMAX for the day I decided to see it, because every other showings were, guess what, sold out.
There's no surprise here. I loved the movie. You knew it would be brilliant. I knew it would be brilliant. We all knew it would be brilliant. I can say that it's one of the best films this year but you should already know that so let's move away from that aspect of the film.
What surprised me here was that this film was much more than a superhero movie. It's just not evil versus good. There are several underlying themes in here, which would make anyone go crazy in their minds. This is really a disturbing movie. So disturbing that one more push on the PG-13 rating would turn this film to an R-rated film. I was going a little crazy in my head.
The action sequences were impressive enough, as well as the visual, design, and make-up effects. The score is fantastic, much coming over from the first film. Now, the performances. We all know who we should talk about: The late Heath Ledger. As The Joker, I obviously think he's better than Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the character, but pretty much because I was so bored with the original Batman movie.
But here's the question some people are raising up: If Heath Ledger didn't die, would people even care about Ledger's performance in the film? Did this event somehow affect the rest of the movie? Possibly, but please, I really think Ledger should deserve an Oscar nomination for his performance in here. The other two newbies in this movie, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal, are really terrific in their roles as well.
If you get a chance to do so, try to watch this film on IMAX. No, I don't think it'll change your opinion on the movie if you see this on a bigger screen but I think it's just a better movie experience for this type of film. Not only is this the movie to watch this summer, this is the movie to watch this year. However, I should warn you that little kids may be scared but it depends on the parents, I guess. Yes, I do think it's one of the best films of this year and yes, this is the best Batman film ever created.