The Crowned Prince of Movies

Rating: 10/10 (23 March 2015)

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, is my favorite movie of all time. This movie created my love for movies, and even for Batman and the Joker. From the moment that Hans Zimmer's gripping score beings in the opening scene, to the first time we see Heath Ledger give the performance of a lifetime as the clown prince of crime, I was hooked.
The setting feels dark, gloomy, and even evil at times, but yet I am compelled to buy a plane ticket to the city. I would like to say that this is because of Batman, that I want to fight the crime in Gotham and be a member of the GCPD (but less corrupt). But the truth is that I want to see the Joker (from a safe distance). The Joker offers such high levels of charisma and dark humor that you don't have to fool yourself by saying you love to hate him. Be honest, you hate that you love him. In this city of corrupt cops, dirty money, white collar crime, and gang activity, who better to look to than someone who makes even the most wicked of people look sane. Nolan has presented a world where the joker isn't so much a mad clown, as he is a mad scientist. Maybe he lacks morals, but even his most convoluted plans are artfully crafted.
The Dark Knight is not a comic book movie. The Dark Knight is an action movie based on comic book locations and characters. That seems simple enough, but I stand by the fact that it is the only film of its kind (including the other two in the trilogy). Even the best of comic book movies such as Iron Man or The Avengers, are still very much comic book movies. The Dark Knight was able to rise above that title to become something more than that. Christian Bale gave us the best performance as Bruce Wayne as seen on the big screen to-date, and Heath Ledger gave us possibly the greatest performance of all time as the joker.
I do not give this score to films very often, but The Dark Knight is undoubtedly a 10/10.