The Dark Knight

It is as good as they say.

It's disappointing that Ledger can't reprise this role, but I have to hope that what Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News says is right: that this lays down the rules used by anyone else who gets the part of the Joker, should he be back.

Even though it is a good movie (and if this gets snubbed by the Academy, it just proves once again their snobbishness toward certain film genres), it's not exactly a Batman movie - at least, not as we've been shown Batman in the past. Generally, the film gives us what we've been told these people are in the comics for a long time.

For the Batman, it means a detective and a vigilante. He is Gotham's hero, a nudge towards the light from the dark-side - he's not a "hero" because he can do what other men won't. We also see him using his vast technological and monetary resources to look into things the cops can't, either due to a lack funding or a lack of authority.

For the Joker, this means that we get a true agent of chaos. Which is actually kind of funny, because despite being an agent of chaos, he's not chaotic himself. Instead, everything is thoroughly calculated to cause as much chaos as possible. He's left a complete mystery - no one can figure out who he is, and even though he "keeps his word" he lies through his teeth.

But really, if anything, this is the story of Harvey Dent. A truly tragic figure in this take, but I'll leave that to watchers to figure out. You see, he makes his own fate.