Excellent effort from Nolan and cast.

Rating: 9/10 (3 August 2008)

First and foremost, Heath Ledger gave an excellent performance, worthy of an Oscar nomination. Not because of his unfortunate death, but simply because he was superb. Not only is Ledger's rendition of the Joker frightening yet pitiable, but he manages to remain humorous despite the character's obvious insanity.
Ledger's performance is rivaled by both Oldman's Commissioner Gordon and Eckert's Harvey Dent. Oldman aptly conveys Gordon's fear, resolve, and self-doubt. Meanwhile, Eckert's portrayal of Harvey Dent effectively shows the thin line between good and evil, and how easily a good man can be swayed. Both Caine and Freeman continue to impress in their supporting roles. Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes is more than adequate, and personally, I feel is much better than Katie Holmes'.
The script itself is good, though slightly too dutiful in its execution. For example, a cameo featuring a previous character was, in my opinion, completely unnecessary, and the inclusion of certain characters felt forced. However, neither become serious issues as the story unfolds. My single gripe with this film will have to be, sadly, the title character.
Christian Bale continues his unfathomable need to speak three octaves lower as Batman. Compounding to this problem is his noticeable lisp during these scenes. As Bruce Wayne, Bale puts forth a fine effort as a man battling his dual lives and uncertainty, but as Batman, he elicits memories of that terrible date with the screeching voice that just can't seem to stop giggling and wheezing, and Fran Drescher. Scenes with long dialogues involving Batman are nearly unbearable, even worse knowing that Bale is putting forth all his effort to speak in that manner.
Despite these few problems, however, The Dark Knight is an excellent film and definitely worth a watch, or two, or three, or however many I can manage.