Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight, the second of his Batman films, is a thing of dark, twisted and conflicted beauty. Never before have the good guys been so multi-dimensional and emotionally layered and instead of giving back stories for the villains, sometimes evil is just that�evil and is left better unexplained. Chris Nolan and his team are hell bent on ensuring that this superhero franchise is done right. There's immense hype behind The Dark Knight and I'm here to tell you, that it just won't live up to your expectations, but may surpass them with ease. The look of the film is epic, drowning in its film noir influence of the comics, action sequences are staggering but don't take away from the most important elements; the characters. The film's story arc is unparalleled in realm of comic heroes and instead of being trapped by the hero or an ever so fluorescent villain, Nolan notably uses the characters merely as vessels to tell his epic story which is so expansive, there is no telling how many films they could do. The remainder of the story is fleshed out with key characters, which in other films that would be minor, but here they're integral.

Beginning approximately one-year after Batman Begins ends, the film wastes no time in setting up a provocative opening that isn't so much about flash as it is about serving a larger purpose. The story is the knight in shining armor as the script and character development came first. Batman finds himself living alone in a high rise in Gotham (depicted immensely by the City of Chicago, which has never looked better on celluloid) and finding himself encountering daily entanglements with the mob, crooked cops and loose cannon, the Joker. While he yearns for a time when the city will not need him, he's continually pulled back into action as copycats roam the streets and when the Joker appears, who most believe is a one man operation and ultimately dismissible, the story and character development is taken to another level.

It's impossible to discuss The Dark Knight and not talk about Heath Ledger. If he had lived, I do believe there would be Oscar buzz surrounding his performance as its entirely original and even with his face never more prevalent in our minds than it is right now, I kept finding myself having to remind my brain that it was Ledger behind the make-up, that is how amazingly he disappears into the character. He played the Joker in a demented and maniacal manner that is slightly humorous while eliciting pure horror simultaneously; a rare feat. It's eerie, spooky and downright scary at how good he is. He will forever be remembered for bringing one of pop culture's great villains to life in a light no one has ever seen before. I only wish he could have lived long enough to hear this praise.

However, if you think The Dark Knight is purely the Joker's story, you would be wrong and this is the brilliance of the script by Chris Nolan and his brother Jonathan; it's arc is so vast and wide that I sit here typing this and can not wait for the next installment to appear. Special credit needs to be given to Jonathan Nolan whose prose is nothing short of elegiac. I'm thrilled to say the same team that delivered a knock-out on 2006's The Prestige has once again delivered in rendering a script so perfect I shudder at the mismanagement I've seen in other superhero films. I see every superhero action movie that hits the multiplex and I enjoy the hell out of all of them. Good ones, bad ones, misunderstood ones, camp ones; I believe there is a grand entertainment value to be found in each one, however The Dark Knight is something otherworldly as it is a film that is blended with style, substance, sting and sorrow. This isn't just a film for comic lovers, but everyone who enjoys great cinema. No character is too insignificant to not be taken seriously. While supporting characters development often suffers as a result of the money involved in a production of this size, every character on the poster and even those whose names you don't know are substantial to the entire story. Michael Caine returns as Alfred, and never has dapper been so clam and cool. Maggie Gyllenhaal does her best with as the feisty Rachel Dawes while Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox doesn't have as much to do in this film, but is nonetheless essential and every bit fantastic when he is on screen. Gary Oldman's performance is elliptical as Gordon as his character is given a story arc that could be a movie in itself. Then there's Harvey Dent played by ever reliable and underrated Aaron Eckhart in an intricately crafted role that is the flip side to the Joker; defiant, righteous and ultimately devastating. His performance is understated and played with such subtlety that few will truly recognize that immensity of the role. Think Robert Duvall in The Godfather, the role pales in comparison to others on paper, but Eckhart manages to make us root and despise him all the same, no easy feat especially in a story as large as this one. Eckhart has been one of the best actors in the business since his debut in In the Company of Men back in 1997 and hopefully the whole world will now realize what a versatile actor he truly is.

The Dark Knight is more than a film based on comic book characters, it's a film where emotions run deep in the characters who are surrounded in a corrupt world haunted by pure evil. It's one of the most developed and rich scripts about human nature I've seen in years and the comparisons being thrown at it comparing it to The Godfather II, and The Empire Strikes Back are worthy, as it is every bit as good. I can't wait to see it again.