Did Ledger Deserve All The Accolades? Oh yes!

Rating: 9/10 (24 July 2008)

Batman is back. And so is director Christoperh Nolan who directed the amazing BATMAN BEGINS. As someone who thoroughly enjoyed Nolan's previous Batman film, I felt confident he'd never be able to surpass it. I was horribly wrong.
The dark sets. The amazing acting (with one exception). The wonderful dialogue. It was a sheer joy to watch. And the fact that it was 152 minutes long didn't bother me in the slightest. The action was practically nonstop with enough plot twists, explosions, and funny lines to make one cringe and laugh at the same time.
The big question, though, on many people's minds (including my own before I watched it) was "Is Heath Ledger's performance that good or are the critics just being nice after Ledger's unfortunate death?" Hollywood has a history of doing this where they honor someone for an achievement that really wasn't deserved, but they felt sorry for the performer's family, etc. and decided to throw them a bone by overly-praising a performance or a life that wasn't particularly notable. I was concerned that this might be the case for Ledger's Joker. But my worries were immediately stripped away as soon as The Joker made his appearance. Creepy. Funny. Line delivery that'll blow your mind ("See, I'm not a monster...I'm just ahead of the curve."). Ledger's performance put all others in his shadow (yes that includes Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman).
Christian Bale (3:10 TO YUMA) has now become synonymous with what Batman means to movie-goers and comic book fans alike. He plays the cocky, rich, and uncompromising Bruce Wayne with the perfect amount of grace and toughness the role deserves. The only downside is his heavily whispered Batman voice that grates on the nerves after a short while.
Michael Caine (CHILDREN OF MEN) and Gary Oldman (HARRY POTTER) reprise their roles and do so with the talent we've all come to expect from these two fine actors. Morgan Freeman (GONE BABY GONE) returns as Lucius Fox, Batman's weapons designer and conscious. Although not particularly riveting, his performance did help move the plot along.
An addition to the cast was introduced with the arrival of Harvey Dent/Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart, CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN). Exquisitely incorporated into the story, the uncovering of Two-Face's origins is masterfully pulled into the story and given ample screen time.
The only less-than-stellar performance came from Maggie Gyllenhaal (STRANGER THAN FICITON) who replaced Katie Holmes (FIRST DAUGHTER) in the role of Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne's love interest. Although no fan of Katie Holmes, I found Gyllenhaal's performance to be relatively unmoving in comparison to the rest of the cast. That's probably not a knock against Gyllenhaal considering the entire production held some of the strongest roles I've seen this year. But no one came close to Ledger and his wonderful performance, least of all Gyllenhaal.
If you're looking for the action film of the year with one of the best performances by an actor that is no longer with us, The Dark Knight is the ticket. No Jokin'.