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After re-invigorating the Batman movie franchise by taking him back to his beginnings three years ago, director Christopher Nolan again tweaks the superhero movie genre and turns it on its ear with this riveting and brilliantly executed sequel. You could safely say this is The Godfather II of comic-book movies because at its dark heart it really plays like a crime movie, more L.A. Confidential than Iron Man. Joining a triumvirate to eviscerate crime in Gotham City, Batman (Christian Bale) teams with Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and crusading D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to triumph over evil. But as a true anarchist, The Joker (Heath Ledger) is unleashed by the mob and determined to cause holy bat terror for no apparent reason other than his own enjoyment. Right from the beginning, Batman and his colleagues realize they are not dealing with any rational criminal and must use all their ingenuity to combat him. The film explores the extreme damage one determined person can have on an entire society, an apt analogy to the real world where local terrorists can create havoc beyond human belief. Things also get complicated when a love triangle develops between Batman's alter-ego Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent (who truly has a dark side) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).
As good as this cast is (Bale is back in a role that fits him like a glove - the perfect Batman and suave Bruce Wayne) and it doesn't get much better in the genre -The Dark Knight is Ledger's film, a fitting finale for an all-too-short but enormously impressive career. The late actor took on the daunting task of filling Jack Nicholson's shoes but makes his Joker one of the most memorable of all previous Batman baddies (and that includes Jack's). It's a fearless performance, bitingly alive and ironic - a clown on crack, as it were. Ledger's posthumous performance may be headed toward the bittersweet moment of a certain supporting Oscar nomination, if not the award itself.