The Dark Knight: Masterpiece

I've written so much about this film over the last day I really don't know what else to say about it. It's the best superhero movie ever created. It's the best crime drama I've seen since The Departed. It's one of the best movies I've EVER SEEN.

Heath Ledger's performance is the best I've seen since Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. He turns the Joker from a cartoon character into literally the best villain ever put on film. Some villains have been pretty nasty, but the Joker is just so wickedly unpredictable and dangerous, that it's the first time I've felt in a comic book film that I literally did not know what was going to happen and that something was at stake. This isn't a children's film. Major characters die, people are tortured, threatened, beaten, shot, hanged, and burned alive. It's a miracle this film got off with a PG-13 (very little blood is shown and there is a notable lack of profanity): the film is called The Dark Knight for a reason.

I won't give anything away, but basically the movie starts out with a bang, backs off, slowly builds tension, ups the game with wicked action and threats, and then releases it all during what feels like an hour long climax. It's daring, complex, disturbing, intense, scary, and brilliant. Take all the hype you've heard about this movie, multiply it by 5, and you may just have an idea of the ride this movie takes you on.

This may be a bold claim, but this is a serious contender for Best Picture. Ledger completely deserves a posthumous Oscar, and he will win it. This movie shall be remembered for years to come as the superhero movie that elevated its quality to a point as to where it cannot be compared to any other film in its genre. This isn't a superhero film. This is a crime epic, and it is a masterpiece.

Trailer: