Ledger's acting is in a class with the all time greats and gives a performance on par with Brando and other legends. The movie on its own is the best comic book movie ever beating Batman Begins and Iron Man, and Spiderman 2 which is no easy feat. However, with the performance of the Joker it goes into the territory of one of the best movies ever. Eckhart gives quite an emotional performance as well and should not be overshadowed by Ledger and the performance should receive the praise it is due.