Craig's "Dark Knight" Review

The Pitch: Batman done right.

The Overview: Batman has been fighting crime for a year. He's formed an uneasy alliance with police Lieutenant James Gordon and together they have made the streets of Gotham a bit safer. Harvey Dent, the charismatic and popular district attorney, with the aide of attorney Rachael Dawes [Bruce Wayne's ex] are putting away criminals through the courts. Together the four [Batman, Gordon, Dent and Dawes] have created a one-two punch taking on organized crime in Gotham.

Without warning and with no explanation, a criminal psychopath who calls himself the Joker appears on the scene and begins to terrorize the city. Batman, Gordon and Dent will have to pay a terrible toll if they are to have even a chance at stopping the Joker.

The Good:

• Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is amazing from every little tic and nod to the perfect inflection with his dialogue. Ledger understood that the Joker isn't a clown, but instead a psycho with face paint.
• The screenplay by Jonathon and Christopher Nolan provides great action sequences, spot on characterization and grounds everything in reality.
  
• Christopher Nolan's direction.
  
• The city of Gotham. This is the first time in any Batman movie that the city seemed real.
  
• The dinner scene with Bruce, his date, Rachael and Harvey. Bruce went in not wanting to like Harvey, but comes to realize he is a decent man and leaves respecting him.
  
• The use of Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.
  
• Every scene with Heath Ledger as the Joker.
  
• Bringing back Cillian Murphy for one scene as the Scarecrow.
  
• The use of the right actors for small but important roles: Eric Roberts as Salvatore Maroni, William Fichtner as the bank manager, "Tiny" Tim Lester as a convict. Anthony Michael Hall, Jai White and Nestor Carbonell also appear.
  
• Gary Oldman is perfect in his role as Gordon.
  
• The effects for Harvey Dent as Two-Face. The way the coin toss; Two-Face name, and new look of his outfit is all worked out for the movie.
  
• The Joker telling Batman the opposite locations for the rescure of Rachael and Harvey. The Joker's scene with the criminal bosses, the Joker being "questioned" by the Batman, the Joker visiting Harvey in the hospital and then the scene right after when he walks out of the hospital. So much of the movie is just plain good. Oh, and did I mention that Heath Ledger ruled in his role as the Joker?

The Bad: I'm not sure Maggie Gyllenhaal was the best person to play Rachael and I still don't like the look of Batman's cowl, but with so much to like about the movie, let's just move on, ok?

The Ugly: What happens to Harvey Dent.

The Summary: I'm a Batman fan. No prior Batman movie had given me a Batman that totally worked... not even Nolan and Bale's "Batman Begins." "The Dark Knight" works. It works because the movie is grounded and the characters are treated with respect. Excellent choices were made all the way around. Heath Ledger's performance is amazing and gives the movie an additional boost. I look forward to having "The Dark Knight" in my dvd collection.