Review: The Dark Knight

Movie: The Dark Knight
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman
Studio: Warner Bros.
Release Date: July 18, 2008
BuzzFocus.com Rating: 10 / 10

Well it’s here. You’ve heard the buzz. You’ve seen the commercials, the trailers, the viral marketing. The Dark Knight is in theaters and is there anyway it can possible live up to all the hype surrounding it?

The answer is a resounding YES. The summer’s best comic book movie (sorry, Marvel, Dark Horse) is yet another Christopher Nolan directed masterpiece. And, while the summer’s not over, it’s definitely in the running to be the summer’s best movie, period (scratches head and remembers Wall-E). The Dark Knight represents the rare occasion that the sequel not only improves on the original, but comes close to blowing it out of the water.

In this iteration, Gotham’s District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) makes it his mission to cripple crime in Gotham City. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) enlists himself (and his alter ego Batman) to help. Also, teaming up with the good guys is Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman). However, the sadistic Joker (Heath Ledger) has other plans - he wants to see the entire city burn in a cloud of smoke and fear.

And even though it’s called The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader takes on a supporting role in this film, offering center stage to The Joker and Harvey Dent. Words cannot describe the greatness of the late Heath Ledger’s performance. His Joker defines this film, juxtaposing a backdrop of anarchy and chaos that is seldom felt this strongly in a movie. And quite frankly, this Joker is one of the best written and acted villains in cinematic history. He is indeed a terrorist and has no clear agenda other than to spread terror through both Gotham’s residents and political leaders alike. Even money has no hold over this creep’s disturbing and maniacal mind.

Given the intensity of Ledger, it’s admittedly easy to forget about the rest of the cast, including Bale, who is great once again in a Nolan movie. Also solid in their roles are the returning Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox. Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over for Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes. But honestly, once you see Ledger on screen, you spend the rest of the movie anxiously anticipating his next scene. I will shocked if he doesn’t at least receive a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for this role.

The movie keeps the dark tone of Batman Begins, but brings it to levels that teeter PG-13/R-rated line. At 2 and a half hours, it may seem long at the surface. However, given the non-stop adrenaline rush, brilliant acting, beautiful visuals and cinematography - the movie ironically feels short.

The Dark Knight is a must see and BuzzFocus.com gives it a 10/10. The only question is how many times will you see it?