Take your pre-conceived concept of this movie, then multiply by several- and then some.

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2008)

I've had an evening to 'attempt' to put my thoughts in a semblance of 'order'. Don't pardon that pun, it is fully intended.
The Dark Knight transcends the concept of a 'Super hero movie'. It stands alongside carbon deposits as an iron mountain. Without being bombastic, delivers an experience of such incredible magnitude that other titles claiming to be such are entirely translucent in comparison.
Gotham City is no longer obvious sets and sound stages and blatant special effects and models in the midst of real time suburbia. Gotham City is living and breathing, from its skyscrapers to the liquor bottles in bars to the cops on patrol, of which there are many. It's not Tim Burton dark, but that's just fine. It's far more realistic, and as such far more believable, and therefore far more powerful when the stakes in the film become all too obvious.
Batman is no longer a upcoming crusader, he is ready and confident in his ways, and feared by the criminal underworld. Indeed, such is his effect on the crime networks of the city that the big scary dog has withered to the scared and desperate puppy that thinks twice before barking.
Then all of a sudden 'Enter the Clown Prince'. Heath Ledgers performance as the deranged criminal mastermind cannot easily be put into words. To call it 'acting' would somehow be selling it short. Ledger becomes an embodiment of a new age Joker. It would be wrong to make any comparison to Jack Nicholsons Joker, a sublime Batman Comic book realisation. Ledger takes it to a new level. His maniacal laugh and his calculating anarchic, psychotic disposition are not only a match for are Dark Crusader, they raise the bar of morals and integrity and strike deep chords within his being.
When everything you have ever known and loved, and worked for is in jeopardy .. what do you have left to bargain with? What use is brute force and intimidation against a laughing antagonist who has field, and plays it with no limitations.
Performances all around are strong, and I was surprised by Eckhard, of whom I was the most uncertain. Bale and Caine and Freeman and Oldman as always carry the weight of the film. With effective supporting performances by Maggie(Dawes) Gylenhall and Eric (Maroni) Roberts. The real star of the show, well, I don't really need to continue with that one, now do I? :)
The Dark Knight is an IMAX experience. The smaller screens will still entertain, but for the real scope of this feature, IMAX is the real McCoy.
Forget what you thought you knew, forget anything that has tried and fallen flat and hard. Go an experience The Dark Knight. Popcorn is nice, but taking your eyes off the screen is not recommended.