Dark... Darker...Darkest... The Dark Knight.

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2008)

It's certainly no exaggeration to claim Heath Ledger entirely owns this film. He clearly lived for his role of The Joker, most likely died for it too, and he's undeniably the sole reason why "The Dark Knight" is currently considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made and even topping this website's very own top 250 ranking. But Heath Ledger deserves every single word of praise and honor that is being written about him. Ledger's passing irrevocably gives an extra and deeply tragic dimension to the new Batman movie, but even if the actor would still be alive today he would be the film's main attraction. With his performance as The Joker  a brilliant psychopath without cause or motives  Ledger exactly embodies what the ultimately relentless cinematic villain looks and acts like. Right from his first appearance on screen, when he illustrates an imaginative yet highly disturbing magic trick involving a pencil, Heath Legder already surpasses the performances of everyone who ever depicted the character of the Joker in the past and, yes, this even includes the almighty Jack Nicholson. The "new" Joker looks menacing, talks menacing, behaves menacing and  most unsettling of all  his vile acts are completely impulsive and unpredictable. The Joker's facial make-up looks grimmer than the expressionist paintings by Edvard Munch, the morbid anecdotes he narrates about his past will give you cold shivers and even his continuous smacking of the lips is downright petrifying. It is, simply put, one of the greatest and most mesmerizing performances ever given. Period.
Of course, given the brilliance of Ledger's performance and the tragic event of his death before the film's release date, you sometimes can't escape the impression that the whole production relies and revolves entirely on him, and this shouldn't be the case with such as prestigious and eminent film like "The Dark Knight". The storyline is basically very thin and most of the time it feels as if Batman himself is actually just a supportive character in the giant Joker and Harvey Dent (stellar performance by Aaron Eckhart) two-men show. Christian Bale's performance is terrific as always, but the his opponents  whether they are evil like the Joker or in love as well with Rachel Dawes like Harvey Dent - simply appear to be more interesting than Bruce Wayne and even Batman himself. The screenplay isn't impeccable and generally speaking "The Dark Knight" definitely isn't the number one greatest movie ever made, but it's undoubtedly a marvelous film and slightly superior than the predecessor "Batman Begins". This first sequel is much more sinister, with a couple of shocking revelations and unexpected twists. I still miss the typically Tim Burtonesque depiction of Gotham City, but Christopher Nolan does realize more and more that Batman is a tormented figure and his story takes place in a depressing and pauperized city. The stunts and special effects are very spectacular and impressive, and particularly because the use of digital effects is kept reasonably low. Very much recommended, but of course you were already planning to watch it, anyway.