The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan tops himself with the best Batman movie ever made. I could maybe gripe about a couple of plot points that stretch the suspension of disbelief, or about the number of twists near the end, but that would be petty. Instead, I’ll point out that The Dark Knight is gorgeously photographed with a cohesive visual style that uses real-world sets instead of the fantasy constructs of the previous films; that the script intelligently touches upon all of the major philosophical issues associated with Batman (his malign influence, his failure to abide by the rule of law, his capacity to create collateral damage, the way his obsession with justice can obscure justice itself, etc.) without becoming preachy or pretentious; and that the soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard has the effectiveness and tension of Bernard Herrmann at his most psychotic. There, is that good enough for you, Bat-fans?