The Dark Knight: A 21st Century Animal Farm?

First, as tribute to the extremely talented Heath Ledger, I would like to pay a tribute to his phenomenal last performance in the Dark Knight. It was unarguably the most chilling portrayal of the Joker to date, from his tortured-yet-frightening voice, to the dark humor that (let's face it) had us all laughing out loud then quickly sobering up, to the sheer physicality of the role, Ledger truly hit the ball out of the park. I couldn't think of a better way to end a Hollywood career, than with such tantamount perfection. And he will win the Oscar.

I will now turn to the Joker's other half, "the Batman." Christian Bale had myself and thousands of other women in theatres all hot and bothered, wishing that we too had a man in our lives who would throw themselves out of a high-rise window to save our lives. It wouldn't hurt if he was one of the most powerful men in the world...and oh a masked vigilante by night. Despite the sexiness and masculinity pouring out of every one of Bale's pores, I have to question him as an actor. Okay, I have to give him some credit though, for performing many of his own stunts, learning martial arts to streamline his movements as Batman, and of course for the Batvoice. But, he just didn't seem to bring much personality into his characters. There was no energy. No superhero qualities. Lukewarm passion and aggressive anger, yes. I would have liked to see more out of him. He just didn't seem to dive into the character like he could have a'la American Psycho.

Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine: can they ever deliver a bad performance? Aaron Eckhart was perfection as the chiseled, all-American Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal was a great breath of fresh air from Katie Holmes monotonous performance in the first installment. Chris Nolan, pure genius.

Speaking of Chris Nolan, looking back on the film, after having seen it twice myself, I had to wonder, is this some sort of anti-war statement? If you hadn't noticed, it is a very politically charged film as I will now begin to dissect.

Oil: Many anti-war Americans cite the greed for oil to be the primary reason that the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq. Hello? I thought the problem was in Afghanistan. They see our greed for oil as the reason America has failed in Iraq. Oil is also a major theme in TDK. Oil is what the Joker uses to set fire on the thugs money pile. Oil is what defaces Dent. Oil kills Dawes. Oil is what turns Gotham's White Knight evil. Harvey Dent as the White Knight = the USA as the great world leader, pre-war?

Death of Innocence: This doesn't only relate to the current war. It can relate to our world in a number of ways. Growing teen pregnancy. Child molestation cases in the Catholic Church. Terrorist recruitment of young boys, taking advantage of their vulnerability. Children killed in war. The 2000 killing of 12-year old Muhammad al-Durrah. The death of Rachel Dawes. Rachel was a beacon of hope for Bruce Wayne much as the Twin Towers were pillars of freedom. Batman and the USA avenge their losses.

Hostages and threats: The killing of the Batman impersonator on videotape by the Joker as a "lesson" to Batman and to his supporters. A threat for Batman to reveal himself otherwise there will be more killings. The killings of Daniel Pearl and many others on videotape by Al-Qaeda and other terrorist cells, as a "lesson" to other Westerners to stay away and for America to get out. A tactic to strike fear in the hearts of the world and USA sympathizers. A threat for America to leave the Middle East or else other killings will ensue. We don't negotiate with terrorists.

Jokers Masked Army: Except for Bin Laden and his number 2, all other terrorists conceal their identity by wrapping cloth. Terrorist robots, lured into self-destruction and murder, sometimes by choice, but many times for the money that will be delivered to their families upon completion of their mission. Jokers Masked Army. Lured in by the promise of money. Killed upon completion of their missions.

Bombings: 9/11, the Madrid bombings, the London 7/7 suicide bombings. Victims were all innocent civilians. Unable to protect themselves from the unknown. Bombs and suicide bombs seem to be the Jokers tool du jour. Bombing of hospitals across Gotham city. Planting a suicide bomb inside one of his followers, much as the young terrorists were sent on a mission to strap bombs to themselves in London in 2005.

Bin Laden as Joker: To those of you who need to brush up on your modern history, don't forget that Bin Laden was once on our team, sort of. On our team, in that we were united in our battle with the Soviets in the Soviet-Afghan War starting in 1978 and lasting nearly a decade. In 1979, President Carter signed to fund the anticommunist guerillas in Afghanistan. Bin Laden was one of these guerillas. The USA provided weaponry, tanks, and all other supplies to the guerillas. Yet, when the war was over, the USA did nothing to help rebuild a now rundown Afghanistan, in complete chaos, at the risk of being taken over by warlords. Bin Laden and others saw this as America turning their back on them after all they had done to save Afghanistan. The Joker tells Batman, 'To them, you're a freak like me...they just need you right now. But as soon as they don't, they'll cast you out like a leper."