Definitely not the best movie of all time, but extraordinary in its own league

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2008)

Naturally, "The Dark Knight" doesn't deserve a #1 spot on a Top 250 list (it's ranked #1 on IMDb with a 9.4/10 rating out of 156, 218 votes as of July 28, 2008), but that's a silly discussion since everyone has a different favourite film and you can't expect "Citizen Kane" or "2001: A Space Odyssey" (neither of these is my fave, by the way) to be more popular than (good or bad) summer blockbusters on a virtual world populated mostly by teenagers who dig Michael Bay's flicks (and I hate to sound so arrogant here, I'm not trying to imply young people have no taste, I barely left my teenage years myself... but that's the average public, right?), thus these lists shouldn't be taken too seriously.
That said, "The Dark Knight" promises and delivers, more than living up to the hype. Christopher Nolan made something even bigger and better than his "Batman Begins" (2005), topping Tim Burton's first two installments of the series (and let's not even mention Joel Schumacher's name... he doesn't need to be humiliated any more than he's been - let's just forget he exists). The movie works in epic proportions as the possible greatest superhero movie ever made, and easily the most exciting action movie in many years (and this is coming from someone who doesn't dig action flicks that much). The cast (Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman) is also the best in the whole series, and Ledger is clearly the standout (and trust me, he's THAT good, and all that praise isn't because of sentimental reasons): his Joker is a blast, psychotic, scary, hilarious and darkly charismatic. And if the buzz makes it to the end of the year, I can definitely see him getting a well deserved posthumous Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. Whether you're a huge Batman fan or just want a perfect summer flick, "The Dark Knight" shall not let you down. Bravo, Mr. Nolan - there's still intelligent life in Hollywood! 10/10.