The Greatest Superhero movie ever made!!

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2019)

No Marvel film will ever be able to top this no matter how good they are. In fact, no superhero movie will ever be able to top this. This is the greatest comic book and superhero movie ever made and my fourth favorite film of all time. In fact, you can actually see it on my profile in my favorites list.
Firstly, Heath Ledger's Joker performance. This is the best villain performance of all time. He raises the bar for other Joker's so high that it is impossible to reach. And you have to consider at the time Heath Ledger would have been the last person people expected to play The Joker. Before this, he had only really been in 10 Things I Hate About You, A Knights Tale, The Patriot and Brokeback Mountain. Jack Nicholson had already owned the role in 1989 and no one believed anyone could ever be able to outdo him. In fact, no one believed that he could even outdo him. And now, i don't know anyone who would ever put Nicholson or Hamill over him. But the saddest part is that Ledger died before this film even came out. Yet, that doesn't even overshadow his performance. Whenever you see Heath Ledger as the Joker you don't immediately think of his death, you think of the outstanding performance. The opening scene with all the men in masks being taken out one by one until the Joker is last is a legendary scene. When he slams the persons head down onto the pencil, you laugh but at the same time get chills. He can be funny while at the same time creepy. Then, the 'Why so Serious?' scene. Him holding the knife to the guy's mouth and telling the story of how he got his scars. The entire scene proves why he is the best joker and is definitely one of the highlights of the film. Some parts of the film you actually agree with him on as well. Especially, the part where he mentions that people with higher power seem more valuable to protect than soldiers. That's worryingly true.
Now because Ledger is so good, it actually overshadows some of the other performances. While they aren't as good as his, i still think they make the film what it is. Gary Oldman is yet again brilliant as Gordon but my second favorite performance in the film is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. This one is definitely overlooked. The idea of Harvey Dent being the white knight who falls to darkness is played off brilliantly by Eckhart and i loved his take on Two-Face as well. He manages to play two completely different roles in the same film and do it to the best of his ability. You could actually see where he is coming from and the scene where he holds Gordon's son at gunpoint was so dark but yet so powerful and his performance makes the scene as a whole. He also says my favorite film quote of all time...
"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
A line that means so much in the film and is repeated at the end, proving it's purpose. In fact, the scene at the end where Batman says that he will take the blame for Harvey's crimes. Making the ultimate sacrifice for Gotham. The city that Batman loves and will never abandon. When Gordon is taking apart the Bat symbol, you can see the pain in his face. Taking part the only thing he trusts so much in Gotham city. It proves why Batman is actually a superhero after all. He is willing to be seen as the bad guy just to stop the people from fearing each other. It kinda makes you think doesn't it, would Superman do that? I liked how Gordon told the public that Dent was 'not the hero they deserved but the hero they needed' while deep down he knew Batman was 'the hero they deserved, but not the hero they needed.'
Christian Bale is great as Batman yet again but i have to admit his voice is kinda weird. If he didn't have such a strange voice he probably would have been my favorite Batman. Gotta give it to Keaton tho. Maggie Gyllenhaal is actually really good in her role. In fact, she was better than Katie Holmes. No disrespect to Katie Holmes but Maggie definitely seemed more professional and kinda suited her character in this one. And when she died i actually felt some emotion which i probably wouldn't have if it was Holmes instead. It's kinda sad if you think about it that Bruce didn't really have much time to mourn. He lost the only thing he still really loves in his life and yet he had to move on quickly and protect the city from the man who killed her. While Harvey Dent, a man who had just been dating her for a few months, became evil because of it. And the fact that his face was split in two. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are yet again really good and i liked to see Cillian Murphy return for a scene.
So, before i end this review here are a few of my favorite things that i missed out on before.
1. The Joker walking on while there were many explosions in the background. The ultimate villain moment!
2. The scene on the boat. The tension you felt when watching both of them decide. The prisoner who made you believe he was going to blow the ship up but instead threw it out of the window is a great moment that is normally overlooked. The fact that the guard had let him do it and the prisoner had more human decency than him was a great reflection of the corruption in Gotham city.
3. The stunning cinematography, amazing soundtrack combined with great action scenes proves why it is considered as one of the all time greats.
4. The poster is actually my favorite poster of all time. Not the one that it shows on Letterboxd but the one with the burning bat logo in the Wayne industries building has a great color tone and almost gives away what happens in the subtlest way.
5. The foreshadowing at the start with Harvey flipping a coin and leaving it up to chance.
Anyway, this film is an outstanding achievement by Christopher Nolan and will always be known as the perfect Batman movie. Along with the greatest superhero movie of all time.
1/4 of my favorites completed
R.I.P Heath Ledger