Kaitlyn Von Kat (kitteh1882)

I've been waiting for this film for so incredibly long (3 years!) so I was expecting something amazing. And that's exactly what it was. Epic. Truly epic. I went and saw this film twice over opening weekend (first time I've ever done that). Once opening day in IMAX and again on Sunday and both times I was just entirely entranced by it. Everything about it was just perfect. The story. The characters. The themes. The acting was amazing and I'm sure by now everyone has either seen the film or at least heard the extreme praise that Heath Ledger is being given on his portrayal of the "agent of chaos", The Joker.

What can I really say about that performance other than it was just absolutely perfect? Everything he did to make it his own just amazed me. The voice he used, the way he was always licking his lips and just the way he could turn a rather scary or intense scene around on you and make you actually laugh. Every scene he was in just made it that much more exciting. This role of his will truly go down in history as iconic and will be remembered for generations.

Then of course there is Christian Bale returning as Bruce Wayne/Batman. He just brings such incredible talent to the screen and makes you believe that he really was born to play this character. He's played roles on both side of the spectrum of good and evil - Jesus and Patrick Bateman - and once you've accomplished something like that you know that you can play anything. He was largely the reason why the first film was so successful and I can honestly say that I can't picture anyone else being Batman ever again after this. I commend him for his genius and envy him for his brilliance.

As for Harvey Dent being played by Aaron Eckhart, I was actually a bit thrown off when I first heard he was playing him. I had never really seen anything with him in it, but I had heard he was a good actor. Then there was the fact that he was blonde and I always just remember Harvey having brown hair, but I suppose it goes along with the plot a bit (if that was even considered?). Anyways, I thought he did a great job at playing the lawful D.A. of Gotham and I really enjoyed how he found himself spiraling downward into madness and corruption known as Two-Face. It was inevitable to anyone that knows even a little bit about Dent's back story. I also loved how really the whole story turned out to be about Harvey and his arc as a character. It was wonderful in my eyes.

I was sooo happy when I heard they replaced Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal. Katie Holmes had absolutely ZERO chemistry with Bale and it showed horribly on screen in the first one. Not to mention she's just not a very good actor. I thought Maggie did a much better job simply with her presence on screen and brought a somewhat more realistic essence to the character overall. She seemed much more real and not as hardnosed as in Batman Begins.

Basically, the actors did an amazing job overall. It was a dream cast.

As for the movie in it's entirety, it felt very much like a crime drama and not so much a superhero/comic book movie. The plot was generally very realistic. I enjoyed The Joker's rise to power within the Mob. The script was just amazing and the scenes were spectacular. Those IMAX cameras certainly bring the quality of those scenes shot with them up quite a bit. They were all very well done and just the entire movie was entertaining even with his two and a half hour length. It went by so fast. I don't think there was any slow parts throughout the entire movie. Everything that was shown was relevant to what was happening. The only thing I do wish they did was actually make a few scenes slightly longer. Like the scene that took place in Bruce's penthouse when the party was taking place. I would have like to see the Joker a bit more rather than just have it cut off after at a certain part. What happened exactly afterwards?

Aside from a few minor flaws that the film had, it was utterly fantastic and has since moved up to the top of my favorite's list permanently (until now I've never really had a for sure favorite film, so this is just awesome). Everything was just so well done and the story is compelling that it's hard to not enjoy it. If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly recommend you do. On the big screen preferably. Your ten dollars is completely worth an experience like that. Watched: 3 times

There's so much to be said about this amazing movie. I can't even express how wonderful it is. I remember when it first came out and I kept seeing the trailer for it on TV. At the time I wasn't much of a movie fan, or at least not into knowing who the actors were. I just thought the movie looked fun so when it finally came out I was one of the first in the theaters. But wow, anyone who says that they don't like this movie is either trying to pretend that they don't so they can get out of mainstream opinion or they just don't know a good movie when they see one. Fantastic really. This film has something for everyone. Swashbuckling action, pirates, humor, a love story, a treasure hunt, a wonderful plot and of course some brilliant actors. The characters were just incredible. You won't cross paths with too many people that don't know the name Captain Jack Sparrow anymore. That will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable roles of all time thanks to Johnny Depp's amazing performance. EVERYONE should see this movie. It's just too good to miss.