Heath Ledger shines as The Joker

Heath Ledger has become the talk of Hollywood since his untimely death in January this year, with gossip blogs and magazines hotly debating the details of how he died and who was involved. But with the upcoming release of the new Batman flick The Dark Knight, the talk has turned to nothing but praise for the actor.

In the movie, Heath plays the evil clown The Joker, a creepy character who has previously been portrayed by Jack Nicholson in the 1989 Batman film. According to reviews, Heath's Joker is a much more sinister but oh-so-awesome version.

According to Rolling Stone's critic Peter Travers, who is one of the top film reviewers in America, Heath is "mad-crazy-blazing brilliant" in The Dark Knight, and "he creates a Joker for the ages."

There's even talk of an Oscar for the deceased star. Check out a sneak peek of Heath as The Joker below!