Early reviewers and other viewers of early screenings of The Dark Knight prior to its release have praised the film. For example, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gives The Dark Knight 3.5 out of 4 stars, describing it as "haunting and visionary" and adding that it "soars on the wings of untamed imagination"; singling out both Christopher Nolan's direction and Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, Travers offers to "sign up" for any "movement" to lobby for Ledger's getting "the first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won [Best Actor] for 1976's Network." In its early review, posted on June 21, 2008, Pink News calls Ledger's performance "the best of his career", stating that he "dominates the film", which "heightens the sense of a great actor lost." Having watched an early screening on June 28, 2008, in his MySpace blog, film director Kevin Smith declares the film "an epic", " 'The Godfather II' of comic book movies", and "close to a masterpiece", stating: "I can't imagine anyone being disappointed by it." Echoing Travers and others impressed by Ledger's performance in the film, Smith writes: "I know I’m not the first to suggest this, but he'll likely get at least an Oscar nod (if not the win) for Best Supporting Actor."
On MTV.com, Larry Carroll appraises the film on "eight key factors that make a superhero movie sink or swim," giving "the movie's ratings — from 1 to 10 (10 being best) — in each category"; his ratings range from 7 to 10: in the highest-rated factor, the "Wow" factor (10), he says, "Nolan engineers some brilliant chase scenes, cuts together violent montages reminiscent of 'The Godfather' and mixes in enough beautiful cinematography to make the film feel Oscar-worthy"; overall, in the "Sequel" factor (9), he concludes that it is "the best Batman movie ever made". Carroll's "Cheese", "Quote", "Surprise", "Comic Book vs. Movie", "Repeat Viewing", and "Darkness" factors contain some qualifications about the film and garner ratings ranging from 7 to 9.
Emanuel Levy gives the film an A, describing it as "nothing short of brilliant"; it is, he says, "the best and scariest comic hero adaptation you are likely to see this summer season, and perhaps during the whole year." Rating it 10/10 and 5 stars, Todd Gilchrist, of IGN, states: "Nolan's sequel surpasses the original with an intense, disturbing masterpiece"; calling Ledger's "terrifying" portrayal of the Joker "definitive", Gilchrist concludes: "there really is no better way to describe The Dark Knight than to call it a great work of art because it transcends both the boundaries of comic book moviemaking and even the parameters of good filmmaking. What Nolan and Co. have created doesn't just function as a thrill ride or even a terrific movie, but rather as a substantive and philosophical examination of why we need heroes, and then when we need them, what they mean."
The Dark Knight
Heath Ledger described the Joker as a "psychopathic, mass murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy". Nolan had wanted to work with Ledger on a number of projects in the past, but had been unable to do so. When Ledger saw Batman Begins, he realized a way to make the character work consistent with that film's tone, and Nolan agreed with his anarchic interpretation. To prepare for the role, Ledger lived alone in a hotel room for a month, formulating the character's posture, voice and psychology, and kept a diary, in which he recorded the Joker's thoughts and feelings to guide himself during his performance. While he initially found it difficult, Ledger was eventually able to generate a voice that did not sound like Jack Nicholson's take on the character in Tim Burton's 1989 Batman film. He was also given Batman: The Killing Joke and Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth to read, which he "really tried to read [...] and put it down". Ledger also cited inspirations such as A Clockwork Orange and Sid Vicious, which were "a very early starting point for Christian [Bale] and I. But we kind of flew far away from that pretty quickly and into another world altogether." "There’s a bit of everything in him. There’s nothing that consistent," Ledger said, adding that "There are a few more surprises to him." Before Ledger was confirmed to play the Joker in July 2006, Paul Bettany, Lachy Hulme, Adrien Brody, Steve Carell, and Robin Williams publicly expressed interest in the role. On not being invited to reprise the Joker, Jack Nicholson jokingly remarked that he was "furious". In turn, responding to his initially-controversial selection to play the Joker, Ledger stated publicly, "It would not matter who is chosen to play the [Joker]. [...] In any film, there is always someone who does not like you and I am secure in my choices and my record. But I know at the end of the day you are never going to please anyone 100 percent…I refuse to carbon copy a performance. That would not be a challenge and it would be mocking Mr. Nicholson, whom I have much respect for."
On January 22, 2008, after he had completed filming The Dark Knight and during what was to be a short break from his work on Terry Gilliam's forthcoming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Ledger died, leading to intense press attention and memorial tributes. In March 2008, four months prior to the film's scheduled release, Larry Carroll reported that "like Batman himself, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal and director Christopher Nolan find themselves shifting gears between being secretive, superheroic and fighting back a deep sadness." "It was tremendously emotional, right when he passed, having to go back in and look at him every day," Nolan recalled. "But the truth is, I feel very lucky to have something productive to do, to have a performance that he was very, very proud of, and that he had entrusted to me to finish." All of Ledger's scenes appear as he completed them in the filming; in editing the film, Nolan added no "digital effects" to alter Ledger's actual performance posthumously. Nolan has dedicated the film in part to Ledger's memory, as well as to the memory of technician Conway Wickliffe, who was killed during a car accident while preparing one of the film's stunts.
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Be On Time!
You guys are late...I already posted a thread on this film! 
Christian bale
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