Overwhelming.

Rating: 10/10 (14 September 2008)

Not since The Matrix and The Return of the King has the desire of watching a movie again been as overwhelming.. never before have the unrealistic gargantuan expectations from a film been smashed so convincingly and never before has all this happened on IMAX!
Christopher Nolan (Memento, Batman Begins) paints a grim picture of morality, conscience, awakening, malice and weakness in the follow up to the revival of the Batman series. In the end, his adroit product is a masterpiece in cinema that shatters all the hype centered around it following the unfortunate and untimely death of Heath Ledger. 'THE DARK KNIGHT' is not a comic book adaptation. It is but the quintessential battle between good and evil, once envisioned by DC Comics author Bob Kane who created the Batman (and would be mighty proud of this film if he were around). The Dark Knight goes beyond just superhero themes of Ironman, Hulk, Superman and Spiderman as it delves deep into the mean streets of Gotham city where greed, corruption, crime, evil and terror cast a veil over the city's night where even the Bat's beacon dims; let alone the impotence of the law and order agents. Nolan's DARK KNIGHT draws blurry lines between heroism and villainy, between justice and iniquity and between a vigilante and an avenger. Jonathan and Christopher Nolan's impactful screenplay has layers of sub-plots that intrigue the viewer and transcend the realms of superhero entertainment to enter something darker, sinister and relentless.
Christian Bale, who played the serious part of Bruce Wayne as he transformed into his vengeance seeking alter ego- The Batman, is now confronted with elements of the mob who are wrongly inspired by his actions and with gangs involved in money laundering on a global scale that make the Batman cross Gotham's boundaries for the first time. If Batman is Gotham's dark knight, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the new D.A. is its white knight who is no less virtuous and brave and solves crime like a hero without a mask or a cape. He has also overthrown Bruce Wayne as the love interest of Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). It is a love triangle that would have the entire city of Gotham riding on its outcome apart from them. Unfortunately, it's an outcome that will be determined by a wild card that was introduced in the very end of the previous film that turns out to be the seemingly invincible nemesis of the Batman  The Joker.
Without a doubt, the most unnerving, demonic, sinister and more importantly, determined villain in movies is now The Joker. One can go as far as to say that Heath Ledger's performance and Christopher Nolan's remarkable characterization make this Joker the form of nightmarish evil to even rival Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter. This ain't no jumping clown of Jack Nicholson's. Nolan's Joker is what Bob Kane had created - Malicious, intelligent, ugly, preaching, plan-less yet invincible.
Right from his 'pencil disappearing' trick to his ambitious plan of destroying the mob; The Joker is the villain we all have been waiting for on-screen. The Joker exposes moral weaknesses of humans and plays with the idea of chaos in the system. As Alfred aptly puts forth to Bruce, "Some men just want to watch the world burn".
The tongue-flicking lizard behavior and unkemptness, combined with a deep sadistic voice and grotesque facial scars that put a "smile on his face" and on those of his victims' for fun, make Heath Ledger's Joker chaos upon chaos. The demeanor is well aided by the sinister laughter that only haunts the viewer for a few days.
Joker's evil is not purposeful and has no objective. It is not about what he devices in his evil mind and what occurs as a result but what he gets people to do. His devilish influence twists the minds of the mob, making them corrupt, disheartened and vulnerable. Ultimately, his real genius is when he corrupts the mind of the heart-broken and angry Harvey Dent with his philosophy of human weakness and chaos theory. One has to listen between the lines spoken to truly understand how well Nolan has developed The Joker's character and the darkness he brings to the film.
Between the breath-taking, jaw-dropping, one-of-a-kind action sequences with free falls from skyscrapers, somersaulting trucks and the remarkably agile Bat-Pod, are spoken dialogues that provide the details of the plot as it moves along deeper and darker.
A heavy star cast of Morgan Freeman playing Lucius Fox, Batman's very own 'Q' or 'R' if you may please, Michael Cane who oversees Bruce's sanity levels, ambivalence and shares his wisdom in the dark times for the Batman, Aaron Eckhart as the determined D.A. Harvey Dent, whose tragedy is the biggest downfall of the movie and The Joker's biggest victory and Christian Bale, who grows as a refined actor in the Bat-suit as well as the millionaire Wayne's suit with a composed performance.
But THE DARK KNIGHT is Heath Ledger's white swan as the film sails to box-office stardom. His performance as the Joker is a legacy that will be cherished for generations and if the Academy doesn't give him what he deserves, the mob will. His portrayal as the greatest villain in history is unforgettable and he will make you watch the movie again.
Christopher Nolan has given us a summer blockbuster that is a masterpiece by virtue of the above two pages and hopefully, the series will go on rested on his shoulders just as the epic climax scene depicts the Batman riding towards the end of the tunnel on the Bat-Pod with the cape fluttering behind him as he heads out into Gotham as the Dark Knight.

9.520 on a scale of 1-10.