Gone are the days that "Spider-Man 2" held the title for representing the high watermark of the comic book movie genre.
"The Dark Knight" packs in at least two films worth of action, suspense, spectacle, horror, and nuanced social commentary.
Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman give muscular ensemble performances that support the late Heath Ledger’s undeniably finest acting achievement as the film’s suicidal anarchist villain The Joker.
From its furious opening bank robbery sequence to its closing seconds of conflicted gravitas, "The Dark Knight" sustains an exhausting intensity with perfectly layered dramatic sub-plots that make it an adult action film unlike any other.
Writer/director Chris Nolan and co-screenwriter Jonathan Nolan have corrected the diluted tone of "Batman Begins" that veered too far into flights of action fantasy.
The result is a movie that should only be viewed on an IMAX screen to fully savor its thick narrative structure and visual virtuosity.
This is that very rare movie you’ll want to see more than twice.
Rated PG-13. 150 mins.
