"The Dark Knight"

You'll see, I'll show you, that when the chips are down, these uh... civilized people, they'll eat each other.

The much awaited movie of 2008, especially after the death of critically acclaimed Heath Ledger, arrives and exceeds expectations of reviewers, box offices and most of all, non-Batman fans. Fantasy and comic-book fiction hardly have the appeal for audiences that prefer movies with a little zest and oomph. But turns out, every once in a while, there comes the movie that blends carefully fantasy, action, class and creativity.


Christopher Nolan has already been praised of his initial work of Batman Begins and with The Dark Knight he has simply proven once again that his filmmaking talents are a force to be reckoned with. Corny old city of Gotham and cliched villains such as Two-Face and The Joker are now characters with depth and study. Heath Ledger's portrayal of The Joker deserves all the critical applause that it is receiving. Acting as Batman's trusty nemesis, he turns an intolerable villain into a feat of art, depicting the ravings of a madman, his paranoid schizophrenia and the unquenchable thirst for chaos.

Christian Bale deserves no less credit. His conflicted cape and plastic suit, he delivers a great role, a greatly admirable performance. Gyllenhaal is forgetful enough and Gary Oldman makes superb acting look like a piece of cake. What disappointed me a little was Aaron Eckhart who looked a little steely and a little too predictable in his role as Harvey Dent. But I guess it was because Bale and Ledger had already set a bar high enough for this movie to be a treat to all movie goers.

I'm expecting a posthumous Oscar for Ledger; no doubt he'll be the favorite for the award owing to his mysterious death and a career that had only just taken off. Unfortunately in more ways than one, this year he certainly went down Hollywood history.

You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because - you're just too much fun. I think we're destined to do this forever.