The Dark Knight

Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker. Written by Peteagassi (imdb.com)

I watched The Dark Knight this week. It was everything I wanted it to be and more. I got to watch it in IMAX, so it was even more incredible. The movie was beautifully complex and used every moment to deepen the layers. This new Batman series seems to pride itself on character development (remember how long it took the first movie to even introduce Bruce Wayne's "Batman"?), and so this time around the focus fell on Heath Ledger's "Joker." I hate to sound like a cliche of essentially everyone in the world, but he was brilliant. It's not easy to follow Jack Nicholson's Joker (who I never liked) since he defined the character for so long, but Ledger managed to craft a unique villain steeped in evil. There was no trace of Heath Ledger, he WAS the Joker. Every actor was very good. They were all intense. Christian Bale stood strong even when paired with the scene-stealing Joker. I wouldn't call Batman a superhero, but he is a hero in every sense of the word - strength, bravery and sacrifice. He is a solid symbol.

I love the new Batman series. There's a trueness to it that the old franchises lacked. No more cartoonish characters and cinematography; Batman is now dark and gritty and real. The whole movie is shrouded in the blackness of Gotham City, but characters like Gordon and Batman stand out as fully good. It's kinda like our world: there's so much evil and corruption, and so many people fail and fall, but there are those who don't. There are those who never will.

In a nutshell, this movie is perfect. It's dark and painful and victorious. It shows the deepest, darkest places in humanity, but also the brilliance. One of my favorite scenes takes place on two ferryboats. If you see it, you'll understand why.

*Note
Seeing it the second time, it was too long. Could've edited a few fight sequences.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pljIBkl56I