SamWinchester1

Well the movie was great, no doubt about that. Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and it's no surprise that he has made another amazing movie. This one was much darker than the first one and each and every character, no matter how long or short their appearance, was fascinating.

Now let's talk performances:

Christian Bale is always interesting to watch. The best Batman by far and the best Bruce Wayne too. He's an exceptional actor and just flows into any role he does. I really like the fact that he changes his voice when he's in the Batsuit. I don't think any of the other actors who've played Batman ever did this. It really adds to the character and makes for brilliant screen presence.

Heath Ledger. One word: *WOW*. I've never been a big fan of his, but I've seen enough of his work to figure out that he was capable of some pretty decent acting. Boy is that an understatement. "Decent" doesn't even begin describe the level of complete submission of his entire being to becoming Joker in this movie. If you had no idea who was playing the Joker in this movie, you would *never*, *EVER* have guessed it was Heath Ledger. It was as though he ceased to become Heath Ledger, the actor, and just morphed into The Joker from the Batman universe. It wasn't a "performance", it was a total transformation. The best thing that I liked about it is, he took it to the extreme, but he never crossed the line into over-acting the part. You see him in his funniest, darkest and creepiest moments, but every time, it seems like he looks past the make-up and the costumes and the posture and just delivers sharp and philosophical dialogue in that creepy, creepy voice with such effortlessness. What brilliant preparation.

Best movie villain performance I have ever seen.

Everyone else was great. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine. Gary Oldman: always cool... solid performances all round. Great to see Eric Roberts! Nice little cameo from William Fichtner as well and Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favour and go see it as soon as you can.

This is quite possibly the *coolest* movie I have ever seen. It went completely beyond my expectations. I read some great reviews about it, heard people say how fantastic it was, but it wasn't until I actually saw it myself that I realised its incredible *awesome-ness*. Scene after scene was just sheer brilliance. From the direction, to the acting, to the production design. Everything about it was amazing.

What impressed me most were the stunning visuals. Everything you see, every millimetre of the screen is beautiful. Earthy colours. Nothing but brown, red and green. Brilliant, rich, blood red capes on the Spartan soldiers stand out against the rich brown and gold tones and shades of everything else. Unlike other adaptations, this one truly feels like a moving graphic novel. Frame after frame just flows flawlessly on the screen.

Good, solid acting. Nothing underplayed. Nothing over-the-top. Gerry Butler is always interesting to watch - he makes an impressive King Leonidas, totally worthy of the part. Lena Headey makes a strong queen and great support play by David Wenham and Michael Fassbender. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Best movie I've seen so far this year and probably for the rest of the year. Like I said: it's just so *cool*. A+++++, *****/*****, 10/10.

For all those using the word "pure" to describe Bond in this movie: I agree 110 per cent. Before I get to Daniel Craig (fantastic, *fantastic*), I'd just like to say that I'm among those people who say that this movie is the best Bond movie yet. It was more real, more believable, more from-planet-Earth. The plot was simple enough to understand (sorry, but it was), the characters were less outrageous and we finally learn that Bond is after all, one among us. Human. He thinks and he *feels* - instead of just looking fantastic (which Craig evidently had no problem with).

Now I'll talk about him. Yes, absolutely, without a doubt - best Bond ever. We all know Sean Connery was brilliant, Pierce Brosnan was awesome etc etc etc, but Daniel Craig gave Bond that human touch that has always been lacking from the other movies. He didn't have many fancy gadgets to play with, so all he could do was show us what he could do with James Bond as a character and not as a complicated piece of machinery. He's always been a fine actor and I have to say, I was really looking forward to how he'd do in a Bond film. I loved what he did with Bond. He added a new dimension to the character and did not, for a second, look like he was uncomfortable in the least. Not even for a nano-second did I have to think, "Man, they made the wrong choice here. So-and-so could have been so much better." I can't wait to see him in the next one.

Mads Mikkelsen as a villain was great too. Quiet, subtle, there to do the job. Nothing over-the-top. No over-acting. (Kind of like Sean Bean's Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye - good, solid acting). I really liked Eva Green in this movie as well. She was way more likable and less annoying than Bond girls of the past. She has a really natural, loose acting style. No artificiality.

Boy oh boy, this movie was refreshing. It was like a breath of fresh air after being caught up in a huge cloud of dense smog. With the exception of GoldenEye, which was awesome, the double-o movies just seemed to be one brainless, action-packed drag after another. It was so good just to see a *real* story, with *real* characters and great acting - with the action thrown in for good measure (and that itself was a whole lot of fun too).

Doesn't matter if you're a Bond fan or not, GO AND SEE THIS MOVIE. You will not regret it. If it's not screening anymore where you are and you're waiting for the DVD release, grab it immediately.

10/10, *****/***** A++++++