The Best of Batman and The Best of the year!

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2008)

The "Dark Knight" lives up to all the hype and goes so far as to exceed all expectations. This is by far the best movie of the summer, if not the year. Beginning much as it left of with Batman taking the fight to Gothams underworld and at last seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. That light coming in the form of new D.A. Harvey Dent In him he sees the face of justice the city can rally around and finally resign himself to being just Bruce Wayne. The Joker a villain with no conscience, no sense of reason, who lives for chaos and mayhem emerges. In his eyes all people are bad and his only wish is to see the city burn, literally. Bale is great portraying Batman/Bruce with equal amounts of indecision, regret, and vengeance. Oldman brings stoic dignity to Gordon in his expanded role. Maggie Gyllenhall replaces Katie Holmes and the film is better for it. Caine and Freeman bring their A game as usual. Overlooked with all the hype is Aaron Eckhart who's performance ties the film together. His character and Batman are two sides of the same coin, so to speak. In "Dent" we are shown what can happen to good when confronted with pure evil. A performance that shows true duality. That all being said this picture belongs to Heath Ledger. A masterful acting job for the ages. With his first appearance there is no Heath on screen, just the Joker. With matted hair, scarred features and amateurish makeup he has embodied the role and made it his own. No offense to Nicholson but from this day forward Ledgers work as the Joker will be synonymous with that character. He is the Joker, nuff said. A gripping story surrounded by jaw dropping action scenes that skip the CGI and let reality take center stage. In this we have a film that was worth the wait, worth the hype and definitely worth the two and a half hour running time. A great film that serves as an eternal reminder of Heath Ledger and his talent. This film is why people go to the movies, don't miss it!