The Dark Knight

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Year:	2008
Country of origin:	USA / UK
Director:	Christopher Nolan
Genre:	Superhero epic
Starring:	Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/
Tagline:	Why So Serious?
Favourite line:	"Some men just want to watch the world burn."

Ranked number 8 on the IMDB best movies of all time list, my expectations were huge here and, just for once, they were unreservedly met.
Christian Bale is back as The Caped Crusader, along with Michael Caine as his ever loyal Butler Alfred and, crucially, Christopher Nolan behind the camera, the man who single-handedly saved the Batman franchise with the simply excellent Batman Begins.

The plot:
the streets of Gotham have never been safer, and much kudos is handed out to both District Attorney Harvey Dent (soon to become Two Face) and Lieutenant Gordon, before his promotion to Commisioner. The only criminal element left to deal with are The Mob, and even they are well in hand. Then, from nowhere, a mysterious new threat appears, a master of chaos and anarchy, a man who knows no limitations and has no rules or boundaries: The Joker: Targetting the very people that have made Gotham a safe place to live and work, The Joker’s intent is to destabilise the city once more, to plunge its inhabitants back into the world of fear and misery that was once commonplace and to ensure that the citizens lose all faith in their authorities.
Dent, Gordon and Batman himself must team up to defeat this new menace, and all will face loss and sufferance along the way.

And it is majestic stuff.
Eschewing the explosive excesses of the Schumacher era Batman as well as the Gothic tendencies of Burton’s reign, this instead focuses on the consequences to each person involved as all hell is unleashed.
The performances from all are great, though predictably Heath Ledger has to be singled out as his personification of The Joker is simply astonishing, all simmering rage and broiling mania.
Bale is excellent when in Bruce Wayne mode but, it must be noted, is unintentionally amusing when in the guise of Batman, his voice out Eastwooding even the mighty Clint for sheer gravel.
There’s action too, folks, and plenty of it, all handled in such a stylish, effective manner as to feel relevant, not shoe-horned in for the dribbling buffoons not able to keep up with the plot.
If Batman Begins redefined the Batman franchise then The Dark Knight, in years to come, may well be looked upon as the movie that raised the stakes when it comes to comic book movie-making.
Peerless stuff.