The key performance in the movie is by the late Heath Ledger, as the Joker. His clown's makeup more sloppy than before, his cackle betraying deep wounds, he seeks revenge, he claims, for the horrible punishment his father inflicted on him when he was a child. Throughout the film, he devises situations that force Batman (Christian Bale), Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to make impossible ethical decisions.
To counteract this, the Batman as usual tracks the Joker down but similar to previous films, the Joker escapes, unscathed, which leaves him to come up with another captivating scheme. However, what’s different about this film is that the Batman is thrown in emotional turmoil, making him doubt whether he has enough good in him to be thought of as ‘the hero’. We as the audience pick up on the very fine line between good and evil, and the pain the Joker puts the Batman through emotionally rather than physically.
Throughout the film the Joker organizes the riffraff mobsters of Gotham City, but only to use them as bait, creating a whirlpool of corruption that sucks everyone down. He's a maniac, with no grand plan; his ultimate joke is to show that nobility won't hold in a world of disorder. At moments, the film's center doesn't hold. The deranged twist of what happens to Harvey Dent, for instance, seems a bit far-fetched.
Yes, there is a lot going on, almost too much. Sometimes it can become a little muddled. Some may even say that the storyline goes round in circles. But the plot is ingeniously thought out and the special effects, camera angles and the spectacular actors make the whole thing come alive.
Because the film runs for 152 minutes you would certainly expect it to drag, but far from it, it enthralls and entertains yet still manages to convey almost every emotion. By doing this, the movie is rated by far one of the highest of 2008.
