He's the hero when Gotham needs one - thanklessly fighting the evil that all of us fear; but that we all have within us. When necessary he will turn and take the blame for all that has gone wrong. He is whatever the city needs him to be. He is unflinching and uncorruptable. He is Batman.

This theme runs throughout The Dark Knight - which is, the darkest, unforgiving Batman movie I have ever seen - and Christopher Nolan's masterpiece. We either die the hero, or live to see ourselves become the villian.

It seems the streets are safer in Gotham, and crime lords now fear the night - however, from the opening shot we get a forboding sense of the evil to come. And evil comes - in a opening bank heist sequence that I would never dare give away - we meet the Joker. I find it difficult to put into words exactly how i felt watching Heath Ledger portray the joker, now that he has passed - it almost pains me to think that he will never get to see this movie. He has created one of the most mercilessly evil characters I have ever seen on screen, one that actually disturbed me from time to time because i didn't know what he would do next - one that nearly gaurantees him an Oscar nomination. From the moment he shares his first "magic trick" with the table of crime lords, he will stun you - you will not look away when he is on screen. I think he will make some people unsettled.

As the crime lords align under one leader, "The Joker" - with one purpose - "Kill The Batman" - it may seem like our hero Batman takes the backseat here, and you would be slightly correct. While Christian Bale is amazing as always, this is Heath Ledger's show. But Batman is back with a slick new bike, new suit, and a mess of gadgets from Morgan Freeman - that Christopher Nolan of course takes ample time to explain. I have to say that Aaron Eckhart sometimes rubs me the wrong way, but he is great here as Harvey Dent - the shining ray of hope for Gotham, and Two Face - the evil he has become. Make no mistake, Two Face is not some gag reveal tacked on at the end of the film - no, Two Face is a seriously grotesque villian not to be taken lightly; heads you live, tails you die.

The series themes of violent escalation take effect, and things quickly become out of control as the Joker holds the city hostage and stages several nightmare scenarios - forcing innocents to make sadistic decisions. Christopher Nolan holds nothing back. Tumbler and batpod chases ensue, evenly matched with bone crunching fist fights where Bale shows off the strength off his new glove hydrolics. Even when faith is lost, and it appears things are at their worst Batman thanklessly fights on - until two principle showdowns when decisions are made, and characters are defined.

This movie is beautifully paced by Nolan, with a very strong script. His action sequences are a marvel to behold (an end over end tractor trailer flip had the audience gasping), George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have been made to look like complete fools this summer. There is just a scant of CGI to be seen throughout - at one moment a helicopter was crashing and I was thinking, "here come the computer effects", but no - real flaming wreckage.

Dark Knight will excite you one moment, terrify you the next, and then will grip your heart to see the fall of several characters. Ledger's performance is not one you will forget quickly, he channeled evil for this role, and I am not taken aback easily. Nolan continues his grand opus that he started with Batman Begins, and will continue on into a third film i am sure. Which is good because Dark Knight ends with a slightly "to be continued" feel to it. This is the movie of the summer, and one of the smartest action movies ever made.

Now just try to hold your excitement for a few more weeks.

9.5/10

Sounds like this is gonna be the superhero movie that gets more than just technical Oscar nominations.