Peerless.

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2008)

I'm not gonna give this a 10. I'm not. A lot of people have, but I'm gonna play it cool. I'm gonna give it a 9. Of course I'm not putting in a rating till I'm done with the review. Anyway.
But let's take it from the top.
It's not hard for the Hollywood engine to create a solid blockbuster, the kind which manages to maintain a decent plot while not being too stingy with explosions. In DK, where a lorry being turned upside down is standard fare, the awesomeness levels are right where they should be. That's right, you've been hearing all kinds of creepy stuff about that new dark Batman movie scaring the crap out of your younger siblings, but yes, this is still blockbuster cinema and all the good stuff is here: Bats drives the huge new Batmobile thingie over his opponent's heads, buildings fall down nice and cozy, better costume, new gadgetry, and of course the new Batcycle. The frantic fight scenes from Batman Begins that have annoyed many viewers are gone for good, in favor of a more straightforward approach that lets you awesome out as the Knight tears away his unworthy foes in flurries of physical reprimand.
Right, so the new Batman is not poor on the things-blow-up department. Big deal. How about the treatment of the mythos? Is BB's daring modernization still redeeming the franchise from twenty years of caricature? Well, Hallellujah. The fans may rejoice as their beloved hero's dark majesty unfolds itself gloriously within realistic context. Gone are the tired Burtonisms, the classic (read pompous) Danny Elfman theme, the hysterical theatrics, the bat-shaped planes and twelve-foot long custom singleseater with its corny batwing spoilers. Gotham City is a modern day Chicago populated by mob bosses, gutsy DAs and hard-boiled cops. Bale's charm makes for the ultimate young master Wayne. Gordon recovers his maltreated leader persona via Oldman's wrinkled face. Alfred becomes a revered parental figure in Caine's British phlegm and anguished looks. Dent is proud and inspiring. The Joker is a homicidal maniac who wears a painted face, nothing more, nothing less. And every serious Batman reader knows: Things are finally as they should be.
And that's what brings DK to the field of greatness; what promises to be a not-grim-but-gritty, realistic approach to the Bats cosmos reveals itself within the first half hour to be an unsettling, edgy, yet well wrapped-up crime saga fueled by strong performances, tight cuts, rich dramatics, and dodgy twists. That said, it's as similar to The Departed as it is to BB. Yet there's more. The unending brawl between the Batman and the Joker goes to new depths, as it slowly gives way to a battle of values, better yet a battle between the two faces of Dent, of Gotham, of mankind. Like the two faces of Harvey Dent, the duality of man rests here within all characters, and in the final half hour we witness the forces of civilization make their stand against primal chaos in the battle for Gotham's soul. Yessir, the Nolan Bros dare to give their film a metaphorical undertone. All thumbs up.
So by now it should become apparent that DK is well within the zone of near-masterpiece. It's got everything: Updated mythology, cinematic quality, it's relentlessly dark, shocking and ambitiously meaningful. What's more to give?
Heath Ledger. That's what.
Imagine the dude from V for Vendetta, written as a destructive anarchist rather than a political liberator, functioning like an incessant chaotic force of nature with no origin and no actual story arc whatsoever, boiled down to and played as a real goddamn lunatic. The theatrics end where the makeup flakes away, and what lies next is purely monstrous stuff. The new Joker is a nightmare, and it owes it all to Ledger's decisively show-stealing performance. This not just Oscar material, it's a whole new character to be marveled at by generations of nerdlings. And he's not completely unfunny either. He even does tricks.
And who the hell's Jack Nicholson? I don't know that guy.
All the bases are belong to the Dark Knight indeed. So why no 10/10? Are there flaws? Well, there may be flaws, actually AMG, being as retained and insightful as ever, reports that the film does have "issues" in its 9/10 review. But that's not really it. After all Apocalypse Now had issues too. It's that the final star is reserved for those, you know, historical moments. But hey, isn't DK the biggest gross ever, while being a superhero flick totally unfriendly to kids? Did it not make the critics go crazy? Did it not leave the fans either speechless or raving invoking an unprecedented surge of 10/10 reviews that hauled the movie to the top of the #250 list here in IMDb, if only just for a little? Did it not make an insane amount of people go to the movies, in the era of the TS and the DVDrip?
Damn. There goes that tenth star.
Believe the hype: The new Batman is huge. Facing the greatest expectations ever, it still left us awed. As a Batman film, it casts the Burton films to oblivion and even makes Batman Begins look kinda small and crooked. As blockbuster cinema, it's way ahead of its pack, touching art yet being a total mindblower. As a superhero movie, it delivers its vision intact, shattering all conventions, establishing a new era. Seldom has a movie kept us pinned down for two hours and a half, not sparing us five secs to breathe, each scene being rich in either dramatics or pure awesomeness, wrapping it all up in a fantastic ending that will forever alter the way the public perceives DC's immortal hero. The Dark Knight is peerless.