Well I have just returned from the movies after seeing The Dark Knight for the third time. I tell you, I have NEVER liked a movie this much. Despite the movie being extremely long, 2 hours 30 mins, and after seeing it 3 times in a matter of 4 days, I have yet to notice its length.

The movie is so perfect I can't describe it. It almost seems like the movie could have been shorter, but upon review I can find no scenes that really shouldn't be there; they are all executed so incredibly.

So I thought I might give a little more insight into just exactly why I loved this movie so much for those who might care to read.

To start off, I'd like to say that this more modern depiction of the Joker that Nolan delivers is the greatest of them all. Sure, Nicholson was amazing but despite many similarities, it can't be overlooked that there is a huge difference in the structure of the two jokers, as well as the many others that have been portrayed over the years. The Joker Ledger portrays is truly one acquainted perfectly with modern times because he stands for something that we all fear more than anything. Unpredictability fueled by genius, namely fear itself.

Sure, the mobs might be scary. The looneys like Scarecrow certainly aren't sleeping beauties either. The drug dealers, the corruption, yes it's all scary, but the most important thing is that we can say we know something about this type of enemy. We can find and pinpoint their very motivation and that's what makes them human.

The Joker is no such foe so easily defeated. The movie does an incredible job of not only telling the audience this DIRECTLY, but by the end of the movie forces you into seeing the true horror of such an enemy. An enemy motivated by nothing but nihilism. By creating this Joker, The Dark Knight has showed us the most horrible of all enemies in our world: one fueled not by nothing but his own hate for everything. Someone who follows no rules but does whatever their brain might tell them at any given time. One without fear of consequence, binded by morality or even attached to guilt. The Joker becomes this villain of our modern world. Without the crucial flaws of his peers, the Joker has become more than villain, but an image, an icon in his own right -- one greater than Harvey Dent or Batman has ever been.

That's why the Joker stands out to me as the main character in this movie moreso than our heroic Dark Knight. He is "an agent of chaos" as he so perfectly states, and he proves it with even more furious distinction.

Never before have such powerful lines been spoken in movies. The simple line "Why so serious" has become somewhat of a popular phrase in the past few days and I think it deserves the attention it's gotten. It portrays the central ideals of the nihilism that fuels his rage and his onslaught.

Why is everyone so serious? What matters? Who cares if you die, if we all die? Who cares if the plans fall apart? Who cares if the cities burn and civilization falls? Who cares about humankind? Why defend what is hopeless in its own right?

Despite everything that happens throughout the movie, two statements seem to stand out above all to me. However, I'm not quite sure which one was MEANT to be seen as the more powerful.

The first of them seems to be the one meant for audiences. In the end, despite everything - despite the Joker turning the white knight, Harvey Dent into his perfect protege, proving that no one is incorruptible - despite the fact that the Joker outsmarted the police, Batman, Dent, everyone that stood in his way - despite the fact that the city nearly crumbled under the ingenius mind of a single psychotic individual, Batman remains something more than a hero, a symbol of hope for humanity in general. He is both the best and worst of what Gotham needs and humanity in general needs.

But then again, I couldn't shrug off another thought that kept running through my head at the end of the film. Despite the heroic ending, I couldn't help but feel similar to how I did after seeing Star Wars Episode III, which left the galaxy shrouded in darkness, the villains the victors. I can't help but feel that in the end the Joker, the icon of nihilism, the agent of chaos was the true champion - that all hope in the world can't help but kneel at the feet of a single pool of thought.

Who knows what's right and what's wrong and who is anyone to decide how the world should run?

Sorry for rambling, I just thought I should share a few of the thoughts that run through my head every second I'm watching this movie. You may disagree, but I truly think this is the greatest movie ever made. It has the typical action you find in superhero movies, but goes to much greater lengths to prove its central statements, which, ironically enough, may not be so centered upon what's good and right, but moreso on the evil, dark side of the world. Despite all its money and glory, I think it deserves more.

After all, it's not about money, it's about sending a message.

-The Joker