Minute44 - Dan Schonhaar

Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal

A year (in movie time) after the caped crusader appeared on the streets of Gotham City, Crime is coming to an end. Mobsters and thugs who were previously untouchable are being brought to justice and corruption is dying a death. A new District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Eckhart) is finishing the work Batman is starting by seeing the criminals put behind bars in their hundreds. But the criminal element in the city finds unlikely… and deadly support in the form of an unknown psychopath known as The Joker. It soon becomes clear that Gotham now needs Batman more than ever before.

Waiting for this movie to be released was like waiting for the Christmas present that you asked for most of all and you know your parents have bought you. You see it there all wrapped up, knowing it’s going to be so, so awesome… but you can’t have it just yet. Very little of the plot was released to the public, prior to release and the trailers that were released also gave away very little but were some of the best I’d ever seen. The viral marketing campaign, frankly, kicked ass. The “I believe in Harvey Dent” websites and posters, the mysterious joker websites… the lot.

I’m going to come right out and say something bold before I go into specifics… This film, for me, is quite possibly the best film of the last 5 years. It’s most definitely in my five favourite movies of all time and in the space of it’s running time I had forgotten all about Keaton and Nicholson, the previous Batman/Joker combination, even though they always held a place in my heart.

The casting… well, if you look at my 5 favourite actors post you’ll get a good idea what i thought about the cast. Bale is the best Batman we’ve ever seen, Ledger is the best Joker and Oldman is the best Jim Gordon. I was both pleased and slightly saddened that they dropped Katie Holmes for Maggie Gyllenhaal in the role of Rachel Dawes as Gyllenhaal isn’t exactly attractive in the traditional sense but she is, by far, the better actress. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent was a superb choice. He pulls off the public hero with a mean streak role to perfection. Backtracking however, the star of this movie, and not because of his tragic death, is without a doubt, Heath Ledger. I don’t think anyone imagined that the Joker could ever be played like this. He is truly frightening and is the reason I disagree with the BBFC’s decision to give the film a 12A rating. One thing I know for sure is that The Joker will never be cast in a live action movie again, and if he is, those involved need locking up.

The movie runs at 2 hours and 32 minutes which is mammoth compared to the normal 90 minutes to which we are accustomed as moviegoers. At no point during this time, however did I feel the slightest bit bored. It is a roller-coaster in every sense. It was as tense and suspenseful as any movie I’ve ever seen and at some points I found myself so close to the edge of my seat I nearly fell out of it. I actually saw a review on the Odeon website that said this film was boring and the guy kept looking at his watch wishing it was over… well, to be perfectly honest, he can’t have been watching the same movie! I haven’t been that excited and entertained through a movie that long since Lord of the Rings. I’m not going to give away any more because I’m not into spoilers. I want you to go and see this film and enjoy it as much as I did, knowing as little about it as I did.

All in all then, you need this film in your life. Go and see it… do it now! Come back and let me know what you thought.

Verdict: