Sorry this has taken longer to put up than first anticipated, but here it is – my review of The Dark Knight.

At the start of the film we find bruce wayne in a position of some success – things have been going well for the billionaire and his alter ego batman, with the mob bosses afraid and unsure of what to do about the batman. It is for this reason that they turn to a dark and unpredictable character known only as ‘The Joker’, who promises to kill the Batman. However he proves even to much for the mob bosses and gotham is soon launched into anarchy.

The one thing that seems to be key throughout the film is story – which is highly developed and very well written. It is a deep and involving piece that truley makes you feel part of a larger world. The other majorly strong point in the film is the class of acting – it is amazing. A lot of people went on about how good heath ledgers performance is – and it has been worth the wait. But for me the performance that steals the show is Aaron Eckhaart as the troubled DA Harvey Dent. His rise and fall is so well done and believable that it just clinches it over Ledger for me. That said Harvey Dent never really becomes a villain in the film – more of a mislead idealist.

Ledger however does provide us with probably the best on screen villain seen in cinema for certainly this decade and probably the last. The balance in his character is perfect between funny and psychopathic, and thankfully he appears in all the right places within the film and isn’t overused.

There are however a few niggly things with the film – firstly I feel Bruce/Batman could have been shown to be having his ‘one-rule’ (not killing people) put into more question. There seems to be very little debate about the issue within his character and I feel this could have been expanded on. Secondly hyper-kinetic editing at the end of the movie felt a little to confusing (lots of blue light – people who’ve seen it will understand what I mean).

However these are minor issues on an amazing achievement, and they do not detract from that.

The Dark knight is both involving and entertaining – the balance and the pace of the film is just right and everything is strangely believable. A must see for everyone (although the 12A certificate is a bit mis-leading – this should have been a 15)

10/10