This is certainly one of the best comic book superhero movie ever made, and arguably one of the best movies of our time.

A large part of that is thanks to the superb writing by the Nolan brothers. A story filled with suspense, twists and turns that drove the movie along with incredible speeds; and never compromising the flow of the storyline. It’s one movie that has delivered way beyond all expectations.

Coupled the writing with great performances by Heath Ledger as well as Aaron Eckhart, the whole movie is almost without flaw.

Even without that make-up, there is no trace of Heath Ledger found in The Joker. Ledger has committed fully and immersed himself completely into bringing a new life to The Joker. Even his voice was changed and The Joker never sounded this good nor scary. Just a simple lick of his stitched-up mouth with a resounding click sent shivers down my spine. The Joker didn’t even look human at some point, but just evil in its purest sense.

Aaron Eckhart portrayed Harvey Dent as such a likeable guy that grabbed my attention. And even when we know he will become Two-Face one day, I believed in him and that he was the saviour of Gotham City; which he was made out to be.

Katie Holmes made a wise decision in getting herself out of this project as she was just wrong for the part previously. And Maggie Gyllenhaal was an immediate improvement. However, her character Rachel Dawes was still missing that likeability since Batman Begins. The Nolan brothers, perhaps felt the same way, decided to write her in such a way this time round. I couldn’t agree more with their decision.

This movie however is not without flaw, or at least from storytelling point of view. I for one dislike how Batman, who isn’t David Copperfield, could appear and disappear, or why he felt the need to. Nevermind the roof tops but what about a bank vault or even the interrogating room down in the police headquarters? He can’t fly. He can’t turn invisible. He can’t shrink. How can no one notice him arrive, walk through an entrance (any entrance because he certainly didn’t drill a hole in the wall or climb down the chimney), walk down narrow corridors and perhaps down at least a level, and end up inside a bank vault or a locked interrogating room. That, although trivial in a Batman story, was just ridiculously silly.

And also how Joker managed to blow up a hospital of that size by planting bombs within such a short period of time was a bit unrealistic.

That being said, it was still one of the greatest movies I’ve ever watched. And I haven’t felt such a sense of urgency since Superman II. This was one of those rare times when I thought the superhero might actually lose the battle. And in many ways, he did.

Christopher Nolan has done nothing wrong so far.

Rating: 9 / 10

(all images from imdb.com)