Ppl kept telling me... "if there's one movie, and one movie only, which you need to catch this year... then The Dark Knight has to be it".

I soooooooo wanted to tell them... "I DON'T think so..."

Unfortunately, after finally catching the movie myself late last night... I have to swallow my pride and admit this really is a very well done flick. And no... I'm not saying this out of respect for the late Heath Ledger. And yeah, he was impressive, but not exactly the best character in the movie.

It's hard to classify The Dark Knight as a superhero movie. It felt as though I was watching a more intense version of Law & Order, and House, mashed up together. Christopher Nolan must definitely have spent quite a bit of time fleshing out the characters for this sequel... you get a peek into each and every one of their frail psychological state and how each of them justify their actions. There are no real bad guys here, just individuals pushed to their breaking points. Behind all the white makeup, and latex masks, was a movie with one rock solid story.

I use to think it was near impossible to surpass Tim Burton's first Batman; which was one heck of a movie itself. I absolutely hated the versions by Joel Schumacher; which were a horrendous mish mash of nonsensical noise and color.We have to thank Nolan for reinvigorating the franchise, and bringing back a sense of seriousness and doing justice to the material it was based on.

Here's a summary of what I think of the characters :

Batman - Christian Bale once again shows why he's better than Michael Keaton. His character took a small step back this time to allow the rest of the characters more airtime; which was a great decision. Hate the Strepsil-like voice though.

Harvey "Two Face" Dent - Aaron Eckhart was suprising good as Dent. I was rooting for his character all the way during his stint as the DA. However, after he got burnt and went psycho... and came back with the Terminator like do... I felt his character fell into the villian cliche in terms of mannerism.

Joker - Heath Ledger. Totally unrecognisable from the days of A Knight's Tale. I'm beginning to understand why he had such a hard time sleeping. His version of the Joker is one heck of a creepy bastet. Everytime he licks his lips... I feel like taking a 9 inch razor sharp balisong and sticking it down his throat. Job well done... he succeeded in making me mad as well.

James Gordon - Gary Oldman was the real hero of this movie. He made the movie feel closer to reality and kept the whole plot grounded; who needs Batpods and titanium gautlets?

Rachel Dawes - Maggie Gyllenhaal is a much better choice as Rachel than Katie Holmes. But calling her... "Hello... beautiful..." is er... a bit over the top? Still very much watchable though... too bad her character bit the dust halfway into the movie... (ops... spoiler... sorry!)

Alfred Pennyworth - It's Michael Caine for cripes sake!!!

Lucius Fox - It's Morgan Freeman for cripes sake!!!

Verdict - Go watch it!!!