A new take on the classic rivalry between the Batman and the Joker

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2013)

You know you're watching a really, really good movie when it puts a smile on your face right from the start. In the case of Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" it may be a twisted grimace of smile, but if Nolan proves anything in his follow up to "Batman Begins" it's that given the right perspective there's enjoyment to be had in even the bleakest of subject matter.
And "The Dark Knight" is bleak. Magnificently so. Nolan and his brother and co-screenwriter Jonathan pay the Batman fans the ultimate compliment of taking it completely seriously. It's obvious from the Joker's (Heath Ledger) opening raid on a mob controlled bank that they've given a lot of thought to this world and the problem of making it real. It's fun and occasionally funny, but it never winks at itself or what it's doing. The result is more of a crime drama than an adventure spectacle (though there are plenty of spectacle moments) just one that happens to involve a man dressed up as a bat. But the most impressive thing of all is that it never waivers. Nolan and company have chosen some very dark subject matter for their summer action film and they tackle it head on, allowing their setup to play out to its logical conclusion without hesitation. Taken as a whole it's an amazing accomplishment.