#17 The Dark Knight

I've probably read hundreds, if not thousands, of  individual issues of Batman comics and I have never seen the Joker portrayed as scarily as Heath Ledger portrays him in 2008's Christopher Nolan masterpiece The Dark Knight.  His Hannibal Lecter-esqe performance is one for the history books and earned him his well deserved Academy award.

SYNOPSIS
Gotham city's criminals are scared that their livelihood will diminish as the masked vigilante Batman cleans up the streets. In desperation they turn to a psychopath who dresses as a clown to handle the Batman problem.  What ensues is an epic battle between chaos and order.

REVIEW

To say that this is the best comic book movie ever made is an understatement.  It is so scary that I can barely sit through some of the scenes.  It really makes the audience think about whether humans are by nature good, bad or neutral.  This is a substance-filled film in every sense.  

The acting is superb by everyone, with Heath Ledger standing out.  Bale gives a great performance as a conflicted Batman.  Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldham also gave Oscar-worthy performances.  

The music is perfect.  It really brings out the conflicts and will make you weep at times.

TRIVIA

• Based on several Batman comic story lines including The Long Halloween, The Killing Joke, and Dark Victory. 
• Heath Ledger basically locked himself in a hotel room for a month with only a few Joker-focused Batman comics in order to prepare for the role.  He would keep a journal  that was what his interpretation of the Joker would think about his day to day activities.
• Is currently 5th on the all-time domestic box office with a whopping $522 million dollars in North America alone.
• It is the first time that IMAX cameras were used in a feature film (i.e. non-documentary, etc.)

CONCLUSION

This is an amazing movie.  I can't recommend it enough.  5/5 stars.