The release of "The Dark Knight" approaches, and both fans and the industry are eager for this weekend to come. What started as an awkward project, the sequel grew from being met with skepticism by Batman fans to being critically acclaimed by those who saw the premiere.

The industry watches the $180-million movie expecting a record breaking weekend with more than $100 million in ticket sales. Everyone is talking about possibility of becoming the movie with the largest opening weekend in movie history. The title is currently held by Spiderman 3, with a $151 million opening weekend.

The movie's cinematic quality is near-flawless, benefiting from the reported $180-million budget. Furthermore, six of the film's action sequences, including a remarkable flipping of an 18-wheel, 40-foot tractor-trailer, were shot with a 65-millimeter Imax camera for extra sharpness.

Director Christopher Nolan has done it again. He managed for the sequel The Dark Knight to pin against another two great actors: Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. The latter had an immense challenge: whatever he did, his performance as The Joker would have been compared with Jack Nicholson's master rendition of the original Batman movie.

Heath Ledger managed to render an even grimmer character, awkward, fearless, disturbing. I can't say that Ledger's last performance surpasses Nicholson, but it matches it and is certainly the actor's best one. Nicholson had dark humor, Ledger is downright terrifying. Oscar talk has already started about an Academy Award for his supporting role.

At the movie’s premiere, that took place at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square, the film’s lead actor, Christian Bale talked to the press, saying that Heath Ledger is the best thing about the film and also that "He steals the movie."

The hype generated around the movie’s release was significantly boosted once the news about Heath Ledger’s death, caused by an accidental overdose of prescription drugs on January 22, became publicly known. Anticipations are high and people everywhere are egger to see the movie, being either fans of the comic book, people wanting to see Heath Ledger in his last completed performance or a little bit of both.