The Dark Knight

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

True words for one of the many great characters in this, arguably the best superhero movie ever. Christopher Nolan surpasses his brilliant reimagining of the Batman legacy. Batman is now a force in Gotham City, striking fear in the hearts of all criminals, resulting in a drastic drop in crime. That is until a familiar villain begins a campaign of chaos. 

Christian Bale returns as Batman, once again a strong performance. The regular crew of Gary Oldman, Michael Caine & Morgan Freeman are all great too. Maggie Gyllenhaal replaces Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes and performs well. Aaron Eckhart's interpretation of Two-Face is definitely the best. Gone are the memories of Tommy Lee Jones' poor man's Joker impression from Batman Forever and in comes a dark, vengeful psychopath. Eckhart delivers powerful emotion and is gripping throughout the final act. 

But all acting praise goes to Heath Ledger for his masterful portrayal of the Joker. Ledger brings a new layer of creepiness to the famed Batman villain character. With no goal in life but to cause chaos, Joker in this film is scary but you can't take your eyes off him. He commands all the attention and deservedly so. Every mannerism and movement he does looks all so natural to him. A richly deserved Oscar winning role, Ledger's performance is definitely the highlight of the film. 

The story is really enthralling, thanks to the solid script and excellent acting. The music by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard is incredible. Every piece of music fits perfectly into every scene it is used in, enhancing the drama, the action, the perils and the characters. The action sequences are shot beautifully and look amazing. I'm pretty sure they would look fantastic on an IMAX screen, as the DVD I own contain several IMAX scenes, including the brilliant car chase. 

Darker, more action-packed and entirely gripping, The Dark Knight is the definitive Batman film for any and all fans of the Caped Crusader.

★★★★★