Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight

Everyone and his brother already knows how good Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight is, so it'll be no easy task to try and not take part in the "how many different words and expressions can we use to praise this movie" contest. Yes, it's THAT good. My only beef is that Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine did not get enough screen time. That was a real waste of talent.

What I really liked about the movie though, was its White Knight. In literature classes, teachers often stress upon how "round" characters are often the most interesting if not the most important aspect in any story. Bruce Wayne was that character in "Batman Begins". In "Dark Knight", that phenomenon was Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent. Sure, Heath Ledger's Joker will be talked about for years and will have a cult following of its own partially due to the tragic events that befell the actor, partially due to a brilliant performance. Ledger's Joker was an extremely edgy and scary character, perhaps even one notch above Jack Nicholson's "shining" interpretation years ago. Still, the Joker is not a "round" character. It was established from the very beginning that he was just bad to the bone naturally, a fact pointed out by Alfred in his story about a jewel robber and his motivations. The Joker was simply beyond redemption.

Harvey Dent, on the other hand was a character that was looked upon as a real savior of Gotham, one that could actually go about (and daring enough) to try saving the city without a mask. A genuine good guy with almost no grey areas to be manipulated by the other side. Fans of the Batman comics (or even those who have watched the Joel Schumaker directed neon "mess" with Val Kilmer and Tommy Lee Jones) know Dent is doomed from the beginning. The only difference here is that you actually care for Harvey Dent because he really is all that - a personification of chivalry itself. Be it due to Nolan's effective script or Eckhart's convincing acting, Harvey Dent's character was wonderfully painted. Unfortunately, it will perhaps be one of the most underrated performance in this movie that almost nailed to perfection certain aspects of film making - acting, special effects, camera work, script and direction.

When the inevitable change in Harvey Dent comes, you cringe because you almost wished it wasn't going to happen. The effects were extremely good, and when you see the other "half" of Harvey Dent, you can actually feel the pain he must be in. Then you realize the pain of his "real" loss was even greater, hence the fall from grace was almost natural with the Joker playing his part in manipulating Dent's emotional tipping point effectively.

Dark Knight really scores big!