Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine

The night (knight) finally had arrived for far and away the most anticipated movie of the year - and arguably of the past few years - amidst a shadow of glory and loss. Nearly six months after star Heath Ledger died of self-inflicted consequences, the movie that very publicly brought his mental collapse was released. It's the unmoved cascade of a movie that grew so large in its nature, that Ledger's life will forever be cataloged not so much for the great performances prior (Brokeback Mountain), but rather the Dark Knight alone.

But, without exception, Ledger is ironically the brightest light in the movie. His role is perfected, far and beyond even what rumors may have held. He not only puts to shame Jack Nicholson for his now comparatively so-so performance, but the rest of the cast as well. I'm not saying that anyone in this movie did not act supremely well; they all did immeasurably well. But Ledger's role was so dark, conniving, surprising, and all-out insane that there's nothing on the screen that makes him seem any less than the ultimate of what The Joker could have been. Relatively speaking, it's the best role i've seen since Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (which he won an Oscar for ... Ledger 09'?).

As for the others? Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and Michael Caine are all great actors, and everyone knows. Each of them compliment the other, amassed in maturity and self-conflict to complete the hero of Batman. Yet, in an odd circumstance, Maggie Gyllenhaal (who replaced Batman Begins Katie Holmes) as Rachel Dawes delivers a suprisingly good performance as the female lead. Something which comic book movies rarely ever do. The largest surprise to me, however, was how good Aaron Eckhart was as Harvey Dent. I knew Heath Ledger would steal the film from the start, but I was unaware of how close Eckhart would come to that. His change from Dent to Two-Face nearly two thirds of the way through the film only surmised his performance that much more.

For the first time in a long time, I can confidently say that there was no major problem with this film. Zero. It's nearly flawless. The script, written by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, is filled with hints and clues that lead the viewer throughout the movie, furiously completing an immense plot to near perfection, while still giving the characters their just do's. Never has a comic book movie emphasized so much on character and buildup so much, and never has one done it so well.

The Dark Knight is an absolute must see for anyone, and I mean anyone who likes movies. How can you beat the greatest comic book movie of all time?

Score: 9.7 out of 10