What makes a good superhero movie? Everyone asks me that frequently every time I express my hate for movies such as Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk. I always point the fact out that I've been waiting for a superhero movie to express how much a hero sacrifices in order to become what he or she is. What they lose. What they gain. I want to feel as if being a superhero isn't the best thing in the world. It also helps for the story to translate well from comic book to screen, as it should take its own route and create a great script. For years, I've been waiting for another Spider-Man 2 and I can finally take a rest.
The Dark Knight continues the story of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) who leads a double life as Batman. Bruce is still a wealthy man with his own company and his trusty butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). His love interest, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has taken an eye on Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who is also Gotham City's new District Attorney. As Batman, he sets to get rid of crime for good and cooperates with Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) in order to do so. Soon, Dent joins in and the three meet and help each other to see their goal through. While it's effective for an amount of time, they soon find themselves up against a madman who poses as the unstoppable antagonist, the Joker (Heath Ledger).
Everybody has been waiting for this movie and the hype has been huge. From being Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie to Heath Ledger's unexpected death, everybody has been expecting nothing but perfection. While it's certainly not perfection, The Dark Knight definitely lives up to the hype. And while we're on the note, Heath Ledger's performance is an achievement. His portrayal of the Joker is brilliant and makes Nicholson's Joker look like a joke. Every scene Ledger is in, he steals it and makes it his own. Everybody else's performance is also great. Maggie Gyllenhaal is the Rachel Dawes upgrade from Katie Holmes and Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent does great as well.
As stated earlier, The Dark Knight is the superhero movie I've been waiting for. It's one of the few superhero movies that perfectly captures what it takes to truly become a hero. Two and a half hours will go by in a snap because of a great script, clever dialogue and an intriguing story. This is what Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk wishes it could be. While there are flaws to be found, it's the bigger picture to be looked at. This is a dark, dense and sometimes, truly intense character study. It's not only one of the best movies of the year, but it ranks up with one of the best superhero movies ever made and is equally good as Spider-Man 2. Simply, this is an awesome crowd-pleasing movie that deserves every bit of praise it's getting.
MY GRADE FOR The Dark Knight: A-