The Dark Knight Returns...

Movie Event Of The Year Doesn't Disappoint

"The Dark Knight" (2008)
Directed by: Christopher Nolan (Insomnia, The Prestige, Batman Begins)
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Running Time: 152 minutes
Rut's Rating: 5/5

The cinematic event of the year has arrived. Audiences have waited for it, fans have stayed up all night blogging about it, and the most dedicated Bat-fans made custom trailers and posters for it. After much hype and critical praise, "The Dark Knight" is finally here.

Here's the thing about this movie - its not just a movie. Its as much of an attraction as your favorite rock band coming to your city or the circus rolling through town. You plan for it, you make all the necessary arrangements and you don't hide your excitement. Standing in line for over 90 minutes just to get into the screening room (where you wait another half-hour) should be the norm with acclaimed blockbusters such as this, which is what I ended up doing.

I'd been looking forward to "The Dark Knight" since the ending credits rolled on the previous installment in this new, grittier Batman franchise, "Batman Begins". So, in the three years and one month since that film's release, I've been witness to - and enjoyed - all of the hype, discussion and marketing surrounding the new film. Leaked on-set photos, YouTube videos and secret web sites and games orchestrated by the studios peaked my interest and raised my excitement to near-catastrophic levels. Finally, on July 19 I was witness to "The Dark Knight".

And my expectations were blown to smithereens.

This film not only works as an incredible super-hero adaptation, its also just an amazing crime epic. Films such as "Heat", "The Departed" and even "Once Upon A Time In The West" sprang to my mind after I left the theater. If the film hadn't been about a guy dressing up as a bat to fight crime, it'd work as a simple cops and robbers flick. At a time when comic book movies are becoming the summer norm, this one has come along and set the bar to a sky-high level. And I truly don't believe another super-hero film will ever come along that matches the intensity, excitement and emotional overdrive as "The Dark Knight".

Director Nolan takes what he did in "Batman Begins" and simply turns the crank way up. He delves further into the world of Gotham City, where crime is still rampant and citizens are more scared than ever to walk the streets. Nolan has cemented his legacy with this film and I don't think another director could make a Batman film as brilliantly as he has. What I like most about Nolan's vision of Batman is his sense of reality. Things never become too far-fetched and Gotham City's decaying state and criminal masterminds are reflections of the society we live in. Its this ability that Nolan has that has made him and his films hugely popular with the movie-going public.

The dream cast that makes up the Batman universe will impress many who see the film. Too often, actors in comic adaptations don't seem to take the roles as serious as they should, but this isn't the case with "The Dark Knight". Returning cast members from "Batman Begins" include Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Lt. Jim Gordon, and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, while Maggie Gyllenhaal takes over the role of Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes. The new players in Gotham City include veteran character actor Eric Roberts as crime boss Salvatore Maroni, Aaron Eckhart as District Attorney Harvey Dent and of course, the late Heath Ledger as Batman's most famous enemy, The Joker.

The story, inspired by events in Batman graphic novels such as "The Long Halloween" and "Dark Victory" goes as such: With crime starting to slowly decrease after the events of "Batman Begins", Batman intends on finally ridding Gotham City of its mob bosses in order to bring peace to the streets. But when a new criminal mastermind known as The Joker begins killing crime bosses and vows to continue his slaying until Batman reveals himself, the dark knight comes face-to-face with his greatest challenge and fights to stop the psychotic clown with help from Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, before chaos breaks out in Gotham once again.

Bale's second outing as Batman really caught my attention. In the first film, we're witness to him eventually becoming the Caped Crusader. In "The Dark Knight", he's full-fledged super-hero. He cuts down thugs with a flick of his fist and outsmarts entire gangs with intimidation and fear tactics. While all of it is impressive, throwing himself into a role is normal for Bale, who pushed his body to the limit in films such as "The Machinist" and "Rescue Dawn". The action sequences and fight scenes show that Bale will do whatever it takes to make it believable and exciting for the audience, of which it undoubtedly succeeds in doing. But the emotional side of Batman was what I liked the most. There are things that happen in this film that will show another side of the Gotham defender most people haven't seen, and I was caught up in the emotion of it myself.

Gary Oldman's performance is much more noticeable than it was in "Begins". His role as Jim Gordon is a favorite of mine; he's sympathetic, endearing and so darn trustworthy. Yet at the same time, he's frazzled and almost helpless in keeping the order in Gotham City. Oldman is one of my favorite actors and too often he's cast as the antagonist of a film. Its new to see him as a respectful police officer but its an impressive performance. He sees Batman as perhaps the only person he can trust, but at the same time can't afford to rely on just one man in a costume to bring balance to a corrupt city. Gordon knows what his responsibilities are and Oldman shoots this character full of emotion.

Aaron Eckhart's performance as Harvey Dent was arguably the most impressive. As even the most casual Bat-fan knows, Dent eventually transforms into the disfigured, split-personality sociopath known as Two-Face. And from start to finish in this 2 1/2 hour epic, we're witness to his fall from grace. He goes from a public-defending, widely-respected official in the Gotham court rooms to a horribly-burned, depressed soul with violent mood swings. All of this is very believable. Eckhart gives Dent a sense of realism that's hard to avoid, and his descent into madness is heartbreaking, even though knowledgeable movie-goers know its coming.

Of course, the thing that all the critics and fans are talking about is the late Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. Ledger, who passed away suddenly from an accidental overdose of prescription medication last January is definitely the scene-stealer of "The Dark Knight". His interpretation of Batman's greatest nemesis is nothing short of a complete transformation and a testament to the powerful ability that the young actor had. His Joker is psychotic, intense and funny in that 'Is he joking or is he gonna kill me?' sort of way. Ledger has given the audience a gift; he reportedly checked himself into a hotel room for 30 days in order to study The Joker's character and perfect his mannerisms. The result is something that will be hard to top, if not impossible. That unstable voice, the unnerving body language, violent outbursts as sudden as a shark attack. Ledger's final completed performance is arguably his greatest, and perhaps no scene shows that more chillingly than his final confrontation with Batman, telling his foe "I think we're destined to do this forever, you and I". The Joker will always be there in Batman's mind. He's finally met his match after taking on crime bosses and gun-toting thugs. In The Joker, Batman sees the very thing that made him don the cape and cowl. With a performance that's being called Oscar-worthy, its a sad shame that Heath Ledger isn't here to enjoy his much-deserved success.

"The Dark Knight" is one of those rare gems in Hollywood. It fires on all cylinders and the resulting product is virtually flawless. An engrossing, expansive script, a visionary director, a top-notch cast, amazing cinematography, and a beautiful and sometimes haunting musical soundtrack. I bought advance tickets for the film online, waited out a thunderstorm in the theater parking lot and then sat in line for an hour and a half just to get my seat in the screening room.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

There's no such thing as the perfect film. But "The Dark Knight" comes closer than most.