Anyway, I had honestly been waiting to see this film for an age, having an interest in all things Batman from TV shows to comics to films from a young age, the prospect of Batman being in the mass media once again was immediately tantalising right from the start, and I have to say I wasn't disappointed.

Without giving that much away I will attempt to portray how I felt and still feel about viewing the film. Nolan's cinematography and direction to me isn't rivaled by any of his contemporaries as it creates a sense of the unique. His camera movement is poignant yet pacy and his editing raunchy yet realistic, which adds to all his films a dimension his rivals arguably can only lust for. It is this which allows the actors he employs to grace us with such outstandingly original performances. Most of the attention of course is piled on Heath Ledger and his posthumous Oscar prospects, and without a doubt, he sure deserves the nomination and the chance of winning it. His performance hits you like a bullet in the head, his makeup looking like the tissue Jordan wipes her face with gives him that deranged edge that his almost Pearl Jam hair and comic book dress reinforces. As the Joker he tops even the almighty Nicholson, as this cerebral personification of criminality oozes a darkness so emaciating that even the staunchest of Saints begin to sympathise with him.

Other indoctrinating performances from Bale, Gyllenhaal and Caine are also present but for me were all outshined by the actor I least expected to be amazed by. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two Face simply blew my head off, well half of it at least. As most of the film we see him portraying Dent we get a chance to fully understand the dichotomy between the two personalities yet also the similarities, something also applicable to the character of Batman himself, who arguably takes a backseat when on screen with the two villains of the film. Dent's transformation into Two Face however was the pinnacle of the film for many; a scene so fiercely anticipated by the audience that when it arrived no one quite knew which facial expression to form. I merely gawped in awe at the first sight of the left side of Eckhart's face, as it rained down a sickening euphoria that satisfied the darker side of me for a long time afterward. From then on, the schizophrenic slaughter that ensues is mind numbing with the hyperbolic actions of the Joker contrasted with the euphemistic ones of Two Face, ending the film in a climax too insatiable to spoil.

Regardless of all its positive aspects I have to say the film disappoints in its length carrying sometimes unnecessary scenes and repeating a problem shared by The Return of the King, this being an ending often looked in sight at various points but just never came when you expected it and was eventually undermined by the action. This combined with my own personal dissatisfaction with the screen time or lack of it of Dent as Two Face did leave me a little down, however the pros outweigh the cons and there sure are a lot of pros.

Overall, there is no doubt that the film will be a success and no doubt that I will be buying it on DVD as soon as it is released, the only thing I do doubt however is that the next set of Batman villains will be able to compete with either of Eckhart's or the late Ledger's performances, who for me really summed up such a great Summer film.

Why so serious?

Because it simply is that damn good.

Let me first say this: I am not a superhero comic book fan, so I've never exactly felt affinity with the huge tide of superhero movies this past eight years or so. I took them all as standard popcorn fare as a kid, and as money-making movie studio vehicles as an adolescent. I did not like the Batman franchise either -- watching the TV reruns of the Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton versions, I found them caricature-ish and campy. The stories paralleled, the villains one-dimensioned, the protagonists left wanting. Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer drained along in my slightly amnesiac memory, so my faintest recollection of that early era was that of George Clooney's Batman -- a role the actor himself does not relish.

Coming across 2005, we saw a redefinition of the almost teetering franchise in "Batman Begins", envisioned by Christopher Nolan (of "Memento" and "The Prestige"), and enlivened by Christian Bale (of "American Psycho"). This version of "how it all started" became a tremendous hit, as it captured audiences, fans, and critics alike -- because it depicted Batman as a man of the modern times, just as human as all of us. We got to see the hero stripped down of the myth and followed him as he fought the bad guys while searching within himself in the process. Following "Batman Begins"' success was a sequel, which the world eagerly awaited.

The sequel did not disappoint.

"The Dark Knight" is a carefully constructed action movie -slash- morality play, something you don't see quite often in genres such as this. The films are always some monstrosity caused by the bad guys, the hero tracks them down and saves the day. Here, as much as the hero is flawed as he is redeeming, the villains are multifaceted and just as ordinary as we are. The movie starts, of course, with a bad thing -- a mischievous bank robbery orchestrated by The Joker (Heath Ledger). Where else does he get his funds for ammunition, anyway? The act leads to some knee-trembling within the bad elements of Gotham City, who are becoming increasingly handicapped because of "the triumvirate": Batman (Bale), the police force led by Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and the new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). The thugs desperately need to restore the "natural order of things", and The Joker comes along and offers them a solution.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne as Batman's alter ego, lives atop a hotel penthouse (The Wayne Manor burned into ashes in the previous film) and has a makeshift "batcave" below an innocuous cargo trailer, albeit still in good company with loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine) and technology expert Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). His relationship with longtime friend, lawyer Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking the role left by Katie Holmes) has fallen into a standstill as she is presently Dent's girlfriend and she says to Bruce that they can never be together in "his chance for a normal life".

The Joker loves anarchy. A series of chaos ensue, and the city has turned into a virtual ticking time bomb, unpredictable as to who the next high-profile victim or innocent casualty is. District Attorney Dent, brimming with idealism, vows to prosecute the criminals and rid them of the place. Commissioner Gordon, who has been fighting crime all his life, straddles on the fine line. Batman wonders whether all this recklessness has been the result of his doing, and ponders on giving up the battle.

This particular story is the centerpiece of the film. Beyond the amazing action scenes -- and there are a lot -- the "morality play" I first mentioned is deeply evident in the actions of these three men. How much are you willing to sacrifice for the greater good? How strong is your conviction? That these men, impenetrable as they may seem are fallible too.

To say that "The Dark Knight" is a gloomy film is partially true. Apart from the dark undertones and violence and bleakness, there is still some humor inserted alongside, sometimes in the more unexpected situations. There is one scene with The Joker in a hospital that is particularly hard to forget (and laugh about).

What I love about the movie is the moving pictures themselves. Being the first full-length movie shot entirely in IMAX definition, the shots are very clear and crisp that you don't have to squint to look for clues because everything's visually exciting. Chicago is turned into a 360-degree underworld. When Batman travels halfway around the world to Hong Kong, you can just marvel at the astounding skyscrapers and take a breathtaking view like a virtual bungee-jump as he suspends himself on one.

The cast, main and supporting, gave a very strong, stellar performance. Bale is effective in portraying Batman's vulnerability, and is downright amazing in the action sequences. Gyllenhaal takes one notch higher from Holmes' Dawes and gives it more personality and assertiveness. Eckhart earns major chops for portraying a very impassioned Dent (and then Two-Face), because it makes for a good character study -- is he a villain or simply a hero gone astray? There is certainly no other man to reprise as Gordon than Oldman with his subtlety; and Caine and Freeman makes the most of their screentime as Wayne's dependable counsels, at the expense of wit. The cast also includes Eric Roberts as a mob boss, Nestor Carbonell as the mayor; and if you observed earlier in the film, Cillian Murphy returned in a split second as "Batman Begins" nemesis Scarecrow.

The one character I have evidently missed out is mentioned especially last, because he is the best thing about "The Dark Knight". Heath Ledger gave a terrific, superlative performance as The Joker. When I first heard news that he was cast as the new Batman villain years ago, I felt skeptical about it. He never really played the bad guy in films, and I couldn't imagine himself undertaking such a major role as this. I was dead wrong. Every tic, every enunciation, every line is simply pitch-perfect. He essayed the role of The Joker so well he was unrecognizable. He stole every scene he was part of. I laughed a lot because he played The Joker with delirious delight that it was infectious. To think that this his last movie is saddening indeed, because if he were still making movies, I'm sure that he would've made his succeeding roles as great as this, and showed everyone his full potential.

Overall, "The Dark Knight" is one I'd definitely recommend anyone to watch -- if you're looking for a great story, great action, great scenes, great cast -- I have never seen a better movie in years.

Rating: 5/5

(P.S. I saw the movie three times!)

Viral marketing seems to be the big trend to market your product. It makes people feel like their "part" of the marketing. It is more interactive. For example, the new Batman film, "The Dark Knight" asks people to solve puzzles, riddles, take photos, and other things. In return, you'll get cool things like T-shirts, swag, and the "Gotham Times Newspaper". If the community really works together, that could lead to unlocking a movie trailer.

A politician known as "Harvey Dent" is asking for your help so he can run for District Attorney, and help end crime in Gotham City. Warner Bros has been sending out real campaign buses to different cities in the United States with Philadelphia and Chicago being some of the cities. They give out t-shirts, bumper stickers, buttons, and stickers at certain locations. This might sound corny, but this type of viral marketing is the same type of marketing that created buzz for movies like January's "Cloverfield". If you let the internet feel like their interacting with the hype, then the excitement increases tremendously.

There are many reasons why "The Dark Knight" could be one of the top films of the summer. It's predecessor, "Batman Begins" is widely regarded as one of the best Batman movies ever. Christopher Nolan was assigned with one simple task by Warner Bros. Reinvent Batman. They saw how comic book movies were back in popularity again with "X-Men" and "Spider-Man". Nolan, who only had experience doing smaller, more independent movies in the past, was given a bigger budget than he's normally use to. It was Christopher Nolan's duty to bring back respect to Batman. Many fans express cynicism toward another Batman movie. He didn't just give it back it's dignity and respect. He did more than that. Some comic book fans regard it as one of their favorite comic book movies of all time. It is at around 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes which is pretty damn impressive. But why? Simple reason. "Batman Begins" didn't feel like your typical comic book movie like Spiderman or X-Men. It felt like a real movie with deep characters. "Batman Begins" was a reboot of a franchise, and it took over 7-8 years to have it made. They wanted you to forget all the other Batman movies. Christopher Nolan's Batman world is a different Batman world than what you are use to. It's more realistic and gritty. It's darker, and the threats are menacing. Roger Ebert, who gave a thumbs down to all the other Batman movies, gave "Batman Begins" a thumbs up and a letter grade of A.

There had never been an origin story about Batman before. With "Batman Begins" they tried to explain Batman's origins in the most realistic way possible. Their approach to the material was to show that Batman could be anyone, and that's what makes him so appealing. He's a normal person overcoming the odds, just like huge pop culture movie icons like James Bond or John McClain. Speaking of James Bond, MGM followed the same strategy that Nolan took with Batman Begins. MGM fired Pierce Brosnan, and hired a blond Bond to reinvent the 007 series with "Casino Royale". It seems like the words "reinvention" and "reimagining" are thrown around a lot in Hollywood. Batman Begins started a trend. Hell, even Rob Zombie tried to go back to the beginnings of "Halloween". Critics though didn't take much of a liking to Zombie's vision of Michael Myers though.

Back to Batman.

With the origin story fleshed out in the first movie, "The Dark Knight" is all about escalation. Things have to get worse before they can get better. It leaves off where the last movie left off. Thugs and gangsters have overtaken the city after Gotham rids the city of crime boss, Carmine Falcone. Many of the inmates at Arkheim Asylum are still on the loose, as well as Dr. Crane (Scarecrow). And Commissioner Gordan tips off Batman about some guy who calls himself, "The Joker" who has been linked to armed robbery and homocide. There is recent buzz that Christopher Nolan showed off the first cut of the Batman sequel to Warner Bros executives at a private screening. The buzz is that Warner Bros executives were in awe of what they saw, and the excitement over the July 18th release date has tripled.

Christopher Nolan was under a lot of pressure. He felt Heath Ledger put his heart and soul into the role of "The Joker". Nolan wanted to Heath Ledger's final complete role some justice. Every little edit and trim on this film would effect Heath Ledger's performance. For Nolan, it was tough to walk into the editing room a day after finding out Heath Ledger died, and having to see Ledger's performance. But the director promises that Ledger's performance is "iconic". Actor Christian Bale is hoping the movie will be a great tribute to Ledger's life. The hype about Heath Ledger's Joker performance was huge way before he even died. Ledger, vocally expressed how comic book movies bored him. I remember even hearing about how he was offered a role to play the lead in Spider-Man. But he loved what Nolan did with previous Batman, and it was enough reason to sell him on the movie. Ledger seemed to know right away how to play the clown prince of darkness. Reports talked about how Ledger locked himself into a room for hours just to get The Joker's voice and movements right. He even kept a small diary where he wrote notes about the character to get the most out of himself.

With a big sequel on the way, expect big marketing to follow. Some team ups involve General Mills and Nokia. With a mid July release, they don't have to worry about having to compete with all the big films in May and June like Iron Man, Chronicles of Narnia, or Indiana Jones. Even George Lucas himself recently wasn't sure if Indiana Jones could beat the new Batman movie, and was even telling Indy fans not to get their hopes up too much for the new Indiana Jones movie. In December, the first 6 mins of The Dark Knight was screened to audiences who saw "I Am Legend" in Imax theaters. There were reports that people cheered after the first 6 minutes of The Dark Knight more than they did for the 1 hour and 40 minutes of "I Am Legend".

There will be many big movies coming out this summer. In my opinion though, those other summer movies are only there to help pass the time between now and July 18th.

Just to think, after 1998 many wondered if the Batman franchise had run it's course. Who in their mind would think that an indy director who directed movies like "Memento" and "Insomnia" would make the Caped Crusader stronger than ever? Thank god. It's great to get the bad taste of those Joel Schumacher films out of our mouths. It has to feel great to be Joel Schumacher when people blame you for being the guy who "almost killed" the Batman franchise.

There is a rumor that we may see the final "Dark Knight" trailer in early May on the day that Warner Bros other big movie, "Speed Racer", comes out. I wouldn't be surprised if many of the ticket sales for Speed Racer are from people who just want to see the new TDK trailer. There were reports that people saw I Am Legend just for the last TDK trailer. And for good reason too.

You have a kick ass cast (Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhardt, Maggie Gyllenhall) a kick ass director, (Memento, The Prestige, Insomnia) and one of the most bad ass superheroes in one big package.