Heath Ledger's THE DARK KNIGHT

Now THIS is why I love movies. The high-octane action. The palpable tension between characters. Smart dialogue. Brilliant cinematics. And one actor who created a character so intriguing, so full of joie-de-vie that they could've made a movie all about him...and they did. It's called THE DARK KNIGHT.

In the second installment to the newer darker grittier Batman series (BATMAN BEGINS being the first), we are introduced to a villain who not only dominates and outsmarts the Caped Crusader but also over-shadows this flick with a demented red war-painted grin. Everything you've heard about Heath Ledger playing The Joker is true. I was skeptical. I felt his death might've blown up his celebrity status and created a posthumous congratulatory hue over this role. But I was wrong. Even if Ledger didn't tragically pass away earlier this year, he deserved every accolade the movie world can give him. Not only does he reinvent The Joker into someone who's likable, understandable, funny, and terrifying (in the A CLOCKWORK ORANGE way), he's created a villain in par with other great antagonists in history like Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader.

No disrespect to Jack Nicholson who also did a great job as The Joker in BATMAN from 1989 but comparing these two roles is like comparing who makes a better Hamlet. You can but both are distinctly different visions and neither are better nor worse than the other. However, Ledger's darker version will ultimately become the most memorable considering the circumstances that surrounds this role.

Christian Bale is excellent as Batman/Bruce Wayne again. But even this always raspy Batman (who probably needs a Bat-lozenge to sooth his throat) and all his awesome technology (the Bat-bike is what dreams are made of) is only a side-show to The Joker.

And Aaron Eckhart as Harvey "Two-Face" Dent starts out as bland as vanilla ice cream until he becomes horribly scared and warped by The Joker. Eckhart's Two-Face is also based in reality (albeit a bit of suspension of this reality is needed in order to believe he'd survive what happens to him) which is why this movie works so well. On some strange level, all these characters are plausible to some degree.

Other notable nods to Maggie Gyllenhall as Harvey Dent's girlfriend, Michael Caine as Batman's butler, and Morgan Freeman as Batman's gadget maker.

THE DARK KNIGHT is not too far off from a classic and is the new pinnacle to what superhero movies should be. With the exception of some slow parts involving Harvey Dent, this movie is worth two, three or four viewings...even if only to see Heath Ledger as The Joker.

9.7 Wild Jokers out of 10