Dark Knight plays second fiddle in his own movie

I left “The Dark Knight” wishing Heath Ledger had spent more time on screen, and he was on screen a lot.
Before the movie came out, reviewers said his performance as The Joker was something special, maybe even Oscar worthy. It only added to the movie’s mystique that he died shortly after filming was completed.
I am not an Oscar judge but if I was I’d certainly have to consider Ledger’s performance as worthy of the award. He didn’t dominate every scene in the movie in the same way that Jack Nicholson did in 1988’s “Batman.” But, his psychotic, homicidal take on the character is the sort of thing that can cause nightmares even in adults.
Take, for example, the scene in which he describes why he likes killing his victims with knives: it’s because he can find out what their true personality is just before they die.
Context is also helpful: The Joker is calmly discussing this topic with a police officer in a jail cell. Further, he offers to tell his guard which of his fellow officers proved to be cowards when he killed them.
Ledger’s Joker also has horrible scars on his cheeks, perhaps an outward sign of the horrible scars on his psyche. The scars help to form his permanent, sinister smile. He always offers to tell his victims how he got them. Each time, the story is different, but still hideous and we can do nothing but watch, knowing what’s coming next.
There’s another gruesome touch Ledger adds to the character’s cheeks: Throughout the movie, he licks the inside of his mouth, making a wet saliva sound that constantly reminds us the scars go clear through the skin.
Even without Ledger, the movie would have been successful. The plot, of course, has the Joker holding Gotham City in peril and Batman must figure out a way to stop him.
Christian Bale as Batman is as good as he was in the first installment of this series.
As Bruce Wayne, he remains the debonair millionaire playboy. When he dons the cowl, however, his voice leaves his mouth with a snarl and a rasp helping him strike fear into the hearts of Gotham’s criminals.
Batman’s love interest remains the same character as in the first movie, attorney Rachel Dawes. This time around, she is played by Maggie Gyllenhaal instead of Katie Holmes.
I liked Gyllenhaal in the role better. She portrays a more mature, assertive Rachel than Holmes did.
The romantic triangle spins as we learn Rachel has left Bruce is dating District Attorney Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart.
"The Dark Knight's" unique but frightening characters drive the plot, which grabs the audience in the beginning and never lets go.
The film opens with a classic Joker bank robbery that almost an amalgam of many, many Joker heists in the Batman comics over the years.
After that, it only gains momentum and, even though the following is a little cliché, tosses and turns the viewer through a roller coaster ride. What makes it so powerful is that it's not only an action movie but also a psychological thriller because of Bale's driven, frightful hero and Ledger's maniacal villain.
This movie definitely is not for kids and not even for some grownups. The frightening psychology the movie depicts that makes it deeply troubling.
It’s sad that Ledger died, not only for the obvious reasons, but also because he’ll never be able to reprise the role. Maybe it’s better this way.
If The Joker is to return, another actor will have re-invent the character just like The Joker may have to do the same thing himself for another duel with the Dark Knight.
The folks who made these movies have done such a good job of re-inventing the characters from the comics, I know I’ll be watching.

(Just a thought: Mark Hamill provided the voice of The Joker in “Batman: The Animated Series.” I wonder if he’d accept a shot at playing the character in a sequel?)