Ledger delivers a stunning performance in best ever Batman

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2008)

In the sequel to Batman Begins (2005), Batman and Gotham are under threat from a man known as the Joker, who is causing mayhem amongst the mob, and starts to focus his attention towards The Dark Knight, and Gotham City.
In the most anticipated film of the year so far, Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan team up once again for a triumphant return to the Batman franchise and deliver a darker, more sophisticated and exciting film than their previous collaboration.
The plot of Batman Begins was exciting to discover the origins of how Batman came about, and this follow up sees how Batman's personal life is affected, with multiple stories revolving around the Joker, Harvey Dent and Rachel, which gives the film excellent depth and interest and this is what makes it better than the previous, that and Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain).
As The Dark Knight was released Heath Ledger stole the headlines for his performance as the menacing villain, and seeing the trailer I couldn't wait to see if he lived up to the hype and the truth was he excelled the hype and has made the best Batman villain ever.
So dark and dangerous, the cunning and the general madness of the character was brought to such a marvellous light by Ledger, and has, in my opinion, outshone Jack Nicholson's (Batman) portrayal of the Joker. And though the plot and everything about this film is excellent, Ledger is the best part about it all.
Though I was slightly confused with all the mob dealings at the beginning, the plot is consistent with a wonderful depth to it, covering a lot of character's personal situations brilliantly. The visual effects are stunning. The action sequences are kept to a minimum, which was brilliant in my opinion as it is so easy to over do action and escape from the realism, but it was all done inch perfect with accurate realism. The direction is excellent by Nolan again, really capturing the mood of the genre and is without question the best Batman film made to date