For all the talk surrounding Dark Knight and especially Heath Ledger's performance, I went in to it expecting to be let down, at least a little.
I really thought that Ledger's performance was going to be good, but that there was a lot of hype around the role because of it being his last and the critics were being kind because they don't wish to speak ill of the dead.
Was I ever wrong.
There was no distortion in what the critics were saying, this movie is the real deal. Ledger's performance will go down in history as one of the best movie villains EVER.
His acting abilities have never been questioned by me. I have always thought he was good verging on great. As the Joker, he pushed way past that line of becoming a great actor. For the first time I am actually sad about his death. Rarely do I feel real live emotion about people I don't know personally, but after seeing this, it would have been truly amazing to see where he went next. There really is no telling how far this actor would have gone. Joker would have pushed him into the upper echelons of Hollywood talent.
That said, there is also a whole movie around that performance that defies everything I've ever thought about modern film making.
This is the first movie where I can find NOTHING to complain about. Yeah, I know, I complain about everything.
The story was top notch. Kept the audience involved for the full 2.5 hours and really could have kept them enthralled for longer.
The acting from everyone was incredible. Christian Bale is my favorite Bruce Wayne ever (although Michael Keaton might still be my favorite Batman). Michael Caine as Alfred delivered some of the most poignant speeches in a film filled with great dialogue. Morgan Freeman was great as always. Aaron Eckhart gave Harvey Dent a grace and empathy that no actor (live or cartoon) has ever been able to do with that character. Maggie Gyllenhaal was a huge step up from Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes.
The action sequences were beyond amazing. This was as close to perfection as a movie might ever come.
Christopher Nolan took what was a really good Batman Begins and tweaked every detail in his process of crafting that film and gave us what will undoubtedly be his masterpiece in his life's body of work. He improved on every aspect in his previous Batman endeavor, including things that didn't seem to need improvement.
Dark Knight is an instant classic. Since I can't find anything to not like about it, I have to give it an A+.
--John Berry, Online Editor--