Synopsis:

One year after the disappearance of Dr. Jonathan Crane (AKA The Scarecrow), Bruce Wayne and his vigilante alter-ego the Batman continue the seemingly endless effort to bring order to Gotham.  With the help of Lt James Gordon and newly appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent, the job seems to be coming along.  But a new threat has now emerged into the streets, a rising psychopathic criminal called The Joker, whose eerie grin, laughter and inhuman morality make him more dangerous than what he has yet to unleash.  The Joker, simply wanting to cause chaos, and Batman, representing the symbol of hope, make for an amazing interaction as they battle for control of the city.

User Ratings (click to jump to them): The Freak - A, Brian - A, Sebastian - A, Jen - A, Suzanne - A, Nate - A, Leah - A-, Matt - A, Joyce - A+

The Freak's Rating: A : After my disappointing midnight screening of Indiana Jones 4, I told myself I'd only come out that late again if I knew it would be worth my time.  Many of the freaks from this site, including Angie, Brian, Jen & me, made it to a midnight show in our respective locations.  As the cheers started when the lights dimmed, I knew I was among my kind of people :).  It takes a certain breed of movie lover to be willing to stay out until three in the morning on a Thursday night/Friday morning.

Christopher Nolan's take on Batman is the best of any director to helm the project.  Tim Burton, who directed the 1989 film with Keaton and Nicholson, took the series to a comedic level which nearly spoofed itself.  The series fizzled out with the incredibly awful Batman Forever.  I didn't think we'd see Batman again for quite some time.  Then came Batman Begins, the title alone suggesting this was a new take on the comic series.  Nolan brought a darker and more interesting Bruce Wayne into life.  Consistent with the darkness of the comic book series, no longer was Batman portrayed as a cartoon, but as a gritty crime fighter with an edgy, quite relatable humanity.  The script was tight and choice of Christian Bale as Batman was perfection.  My only problems with the first film were the casting of Batman's love interest Rachel (Katie Holmes) and The Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy).  Murphy has never been convincing for me as a bad guy.  There is no toughness to him whatsoever.  He reminds me of a kid in gym I'd just like to punch in the face.  I can't really explain it more than that.

When the first trailer for The Dark Knight hit the internet last summer, the buzz began.  With Nolan and all of the original cast signed on with the exception of Katie Holmes, the blood was already pumping for the ride of the summer.  Then came an early morning in January of 2008.  Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York City apartment.  Rumors flew over a depression Ledger had slid into as a result of his deep involvement in his character study of The Joker for The Dark Knight and a possible suicide.  Jack Nicholson was quoted as saying, "I warned him".  The rumors ultimately settled and it turned out it was an accidental overdose.  After receiving his first Academy Award nomination for his brave performance in Brokeback Mountain, Ledger left us all too soon at age 28.  Marketing for the film was in question now, as Warner Brothers toyed with various strategies to successfully build anticipation for their tentpole film of the year, all the while not appearing to capitalize on Ledger's death for their own gain.  It was a difficult task, but one that they did with class.  Instead of shying away from promoting Ledger's performance, they Anticipation was built successfully and though saddled with remorse, filmgoers began hyping it around every water cooler in America.

Acting in The Dark Knight is perfect.  I'd ask anyone to explain if they feel differently.  All cast members nail their performances, a sign of excellent skill and directing/editing.  This script is fantastic as well, which does help dramatically.  With only a couple plot holes, one that somehow turns Lt. Gordon (looking like he should be a captain at this point) into a badass in sections, it is nearly perfect in composition.  Christian Bale exudes arrogance and Heath Ledger is phenomenal as The Joker.  I honestly can't praise him enough.  There has been much talk about a posthumous Oscar for Ledger and it would not be a sympathy gesture.  Ledger puts on one of the best performances of this or any year as The Joker, as brutal, frightening and funny as you could ever desire to see a villain be.

With all the directing style out there, Nolan's shouldn't go unnoticed.  He captures mood wonderfully in this film, feeling dark and demented even in the brightest scenes.  Humor is very thinly scattered throughout and action sequences are engrossing.  The Dark Knight is perhaps the best comic book movie ever made.  Though a couple plot holes keep it from being perfect, this is strong an A as I've ever given.  Containing the best villain ever put on screen, a hero who is captivating to the imagination and one of the best directors of his generation, this is the best movie of the year, hands down.

Brian's Rating: A : I loved this movie.  It had suspense.  It had action.  It was true to its source material.  It had an awesome villain in The Joker.  The movie blew me away.  I was entranced by the cinematography, the score, the visuals, the acting, and the screenplay.  The plot was utterly entertaining; it was not so far in left-field that you have to be on drugs to believe it.  It was fast paced, but it moved at a clip that was completely enthralling.

Heath Ledger gets dead points in the media, but I have to say that even without the dead points, The Joker character was amazing.  I am sad that there will not be a reprisal.  He sold me completely on the chaotic genius that is The Joker.  Half madman, and half mastermind criminal he pulls it off without a hitch.

Having said all that, the movie is not perfect for me.  I have a few small criticisms.  First, I did not really like the raspy voice of Batman.  Second, the writing is extremely overt in telling us that Batman is not a hero, rather he is a necessary icon working toward good.  A small distinction I realize, but it is driven into us.  The movie bears out this mission, however I don't really buy it.  Batman always has been, and always will be, a super hero.  Yes, he is a bit of vigilante justice, but a hero nonetheless.  So why smack us in the face with portraying him as "not a hero".  Finally, a school bus backs through a concrete wall, then pulls out into a train of buses to get away without a scratch.  Not to mention the rest of the bus train mysteriously let a school bus pull out of a building and inject itself into traffic without seemingly blinking an eye.

Is it as good as Batman Begins?  Yes.  Is it better?  Not sure yet.  I do not think so, but they are on par with each other.  This is worth seeing.  A great movie, and worth purchasing.

Sebastian's Rating: A : ok im going to take time on this review. When i first entered the cinema, it was packed. This was the same when i entered spiderman 3, we had private people bookin, we barely got a seat. only seat was two rows before the mvoie screen, so the picture was HUGE and the sound was outrages loud. It made me feel a bit uncomforatble. In austrlia you dont have resignated seats, so you can choose to sit wherever.

Anyways, there have been alot of dissapointing movies ive seen lately. and i realised why. because ive had my expectations up high with them. indiana jones 4, ect. There have only been two GREAT movies ive seen in the past 4 years that ive had my expctations up for. Spiderman 3.... and the Dark Knight!

There are soo many things i absolutely love about this movie. number one, the suspense, omg you have gotta love it. theres this sound that ocmes on when something big that the joker does is gonna happen, your sitting in your seat 5 meteres away from a 10x5 metre screen with such high sound quality you eyes are wide open your mouth the same staring at the screen. As it gets louder, the feeling you get is amazing. The second thing is the acting. What ive realised is these days, alot of action movies have just cheapy cgi special effects, and pathetic acting. this movies different, it has GREAT acting and AMAZING fighting scenes that is rare to see these days.

I actually quite like the first one, but LOVED this one, and i believe its better than spiderman 3, although it was very dark. I also do like the charactor devolopment but apart from that... i dont know why im not giving this an A+, but i think this is the best movie ive seen in a very long time... and will see in quite a long time!

Jen's Rating: A : Excellent!  I almost wish I didn't watch it at midnight on opening night because I started getting sleepy around 2am and wasn't paying attention as well towards the end.  This movie is very entertaining, wonderful all around.

Suzanne's Rating: A : Awesome movie.  I don't think I took a breath till the credits were rolling. My husbands hand probably has marks on it from me squeezing it so hard! I had to work out when I got home to get rid of the adrenaline!
 

Nate's Rating: A : I'm in a hurry so can't write much.  Even with the plotholes (and yeah, I agree about the school bus part) the movie is engaging throughout it's 2.5 hour run.  It's amazing that they could grip you like that and just hold on the whole time.  The movie never lets up.

I agree with everyone about the acting, direction, writing.  One thing I want to emphasize is that the score is perfect and manages to maintain the mood without becoming too obvious. 

I liked it better than Batman Begins.

Yes, the best super hero movie made ever.  But that bar continues to raise.

Crap -- gotta go.  Have more to say... :(

Leah's Rating: A- : Very Entertaining.  This movie kept me interested and had several jumpy moments. The Joker was quite creepy...

Matt's Rating: A : There are few movies that I deem "must see" in theaters.  This was one movie that earned that title.  I knew this movie was going to be great heading into it and boy was it.  The storyline, ledgers performance, everything seemed to work.  Everything that was said about Heath's performance is true, he deserves everything he gets, there are no sympathy points for him.  My way of knowing it's a great performance is that I have to keep reminding myself that it is someone else playing the part.  Throughout the movie I had to keep telling myself "that is heath ledger, wow!"  This was his magnum opus that unfortunately for the rest of the world cost him his life. I saw it on a monday after it had come out on friday, I thought I was the last person in the world to see the movie.  I plan on seeing it again very soon. I think it is one of those movies that need to be seen twice to get a full grasp on how great it was.  I recommend to all!

Joyce's Rating: A+ : I LOVED this movie! I saw it with friends from Rochester NY and they were just as in awe as I. Heath Ledger was amazing in his role as the Joker! He exudes evil! Christian Bale was also very good but Heath, definately, was the star! I will see this again and again and again...

Elizabeth's Rating: A : This movie deserves an A. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart all had a great chemistry on screen. Christian Bale makes a great Batman because he has a bit of mystery to him even when he is playing Bruce Wayne. Aaron Eckhart did a great job playing Two-Face. My favorite actor in this movie was Heath Ledger. It was amazing because you didn't see him as Heath Ledger, you see him as the joker. The was never any point in the movie where he seemed to miss a beat. I think if they continue with another Joker character, it will be hard to replace Heath. The only thing I wasn't happy about was having Maggie Gyllenhaal play Rachael instead of Katie Holmes. I was disappointing with her acting skills. Overall this movie was amazing and completely draws you in.

Storminator's Rating: B : As is typical of superhero/action movies, a bit too long and convoluted.  However, seeing some real acting and an actually scary villain in the Joker was worth it.

Daniel's Rating: A+

Connor's Rating: A+ : This movie is worth watching again and again its pure action!! Probably one of the most action-packed movies you'll ever see

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