Movie Review: The Dark Knight

About this Movie: (Beware: spoilers are included in this review)

This movie starts off very dark and becomes extremely dark. It is not a kid’s movie by any means. It is an intense psychological look at our heroes and villains and pushes them past their limits. When you think you hit the top of the intensity and the twisted perspective, it bumps up to another level. It is an unreal rush.

Batman and Lt. Gordon have been cleaning up the streets. They are putting the screws to organized crime in Gotham City. New District Attorney Harvey Dent joins in to help the fight. Organized crime begins to use one of their Hong Kong Counterparts to laundry their money. Batman retrieves him from his compound in Hong Kong. This allows the Joker, a minor player in Gotham until till now, to swoop in and start his reign of terror.

I will not give away any more of the plot.

What I liked about this Movie:

This is the pentacle of the character of the Joker. I loved Jack as the Joker in Batman (1989) but Heath Ledger takes to the extreme. This demonstrates why the Joker is Batman's greatest enemy. His crimes are not about logic or greed but his twisted mind. The Joker was 4 steps ahead of everyone for the entire movie. The entertainment buzz about Ledger being nominated for an Oscar is not an exaggeration. This will be the first comicbook movie to win an Oscar for acting.

Christian Bale portrayed both Bruce Wayne and Batman perfectly. He was able to show the complexity of both characters and what was driving both of them. He demonstrated the shell that both Bruce and Batman have to keep. I loved the relationship with previous love interest Rachel Dawes.

Aaron Eckhart captures the character of Harvey Dent. This is great acting. He will be overshadowed by Ledger's performance but do not miss it. This is the real Harvey/Two Face character (sorry Tommy Lee Jones but Aaron was 100 times better).

I really liked Gary Oldman as James Gordon in Batman Begins. He did a great job as a young Gordon. In this movie, he solidifies his role. He becomes the James Gordon that we love in the comics.

This movie reminded me of the best Joker stories I have ever read including Death in the Family and the Killing Joke. The plot and writing is fabulous. The filming of this movie was wonderful. The special effects were really good but they are not the main focus of this movie.

What I did not Like:

Nothing! Plain and simple, there was not a thing that I did not like about this movie.

My Review:
Best movie of the year and one of the best I have ever seen. This movie is what a Batman movie was meant to be. This movie is not just for Comicbook fans. It is a must see.

My Grade: A+


Here is what other reviews have to say:

IMDB User Rating: 9.7 out of 10
Rotten Tomatoes Critics:94% Fresh
Rolling Stones: 31/2 Stars out of 4
E Online: A
Roger Ebert: 4 Stars