The Dark Knight

Batman Begins was a delightful breath of fresh air filling the sails of what one could have only hoped would be the beginning of a new era of Batman movies. Tim Burton's two films Batman and Batman Returns were very entertaining. Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever was fair at best, and Schumacher's Batman and Robin was absolutely atrocious (think the TV series).

The Dark Knight is so head and shoulders above what Burton did that it makes the Schumacher movies look like a bad 60s TV show. The Dark Knight even outdoes Batman Begins, and that's saying a lot!

Just as the title of Batman Begins was the best description of that movie, so is the title The Dark Knight for this one. In Batman Begins we saw exactly why and how Batman became Batman. In The Dark Knight we see a superhero with a seriously darker personality than his alter ego Bruce Wayne. And the Dark Knight must battle with some seriously dark, conflicting moral issues as well as dealing with a seriously dark villain.

Heath Ledger will get big awards for his portrayal of The Joker...mark my words. And not because he died and to honor him. No. He'll get awards because every aspect of the role was delivered perfectly. Creepy. Genius. Crazy. Brilliant. From his vocal inflictions to that eerie way he kept licking his scars when he talked. Ledger will be sorely missed going forward.

Both Christian Bale and Heath Ledger make you believe that Batman and The Joker are real. The rest of the cast is perfect too. All of the familiar faces are back from Batman Begins with the exception of Katie Holmes (replaced quite un-noticeably by Maggie Gyllenhaal...and I meant that as kind of a back-handed compliment).

The special effects, cool devices and toys are back too...including an updated Tumbler (in keeping with Batman Begins, out are the stupid nicknames Batmobile, Batcycle, Batcave, Bat-etcetera).

The Dark Knight is suspenseful, scary at times, very emotional at times and most importantly well-acted. The entire cast took their roles very serious and it made the movie that much more believable, real and...well...just awesome. This movie is a classic and I will watch it again and again on Blu Ray.
By Sky