At the risk of sounding absolutely pretentious, The Dark Knight is just about as amazing as you've been hearing. It does have flaws, but those flaws are minimal. This film achieves greatness in ways I wasn't expecting. At the very least, The Dark Knight will rank high among the year's very best films.

There's a terrific set-up in the final moments of Christopher Nolan's outstanding Caped Crusader reboot Batman Begins. Gary Oldman's Detective Gordon gives a compelling speech about escalation in the crime plagued streets of Gotham City. He suggests that Batman's theatrics could do just as much damage as good. This is but one fascinating theme that flows throughout the exciting epic that is The Dark Knight. If Bruce Wayne's crime fighting alter ego is ultimately a symbol of order and good, then what might the symbol of complete and utter chaos look like? Well, it would look like the Joker of course. And so, one of Batman's most famed adversaries shows up to wreak havoc in Gotham. Why? In the simplest of terms - because he can.

Batman Begins was an origin story. A tale of how and why Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. The Dark Knight puts the villains front and center, but as a whole, this film plays as an ensemble.

Director Christopher Nolan is working on a much larger scale this time around. He isn't merely interested in crafting your average, garden variety superhero flick. This movie has so much going on, it seems unfair to call it a superhero movie at all. The Dark Knight takes it's source material very seriously. This installment plays more like a sprawling crime thriller in the tradition of Michael Mann's Heat. It's epic, it's complex, and it's oozing with style. While it may come across as a bit too complex and murky for some, others - myself included - will applaud its provocative nature. This comic book inspired movie means business.

The Dark Knight is multi-layered not only in terms of it's three dimensional characterizations, but its timely plot elements as well. Nolan has infused real life issues into his view of a crime plagued Gotham. But it goes beyond the political themes at the surface. There's a flurry of social commentary going on in this picture. It's a bold film, particularly for a big summer tent pole release.

What's most striking about The Dark Knight is it's attention to character. With Spider-Man 2 Sam Raimi and his screenwriters were able to make Peter Parker's plight every bit as important as alter ego Spider-Man. Nolan does the same thing here, painting richly textured characters that you will care about before the final credits role. Be it love torn Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal convincingly filling in for the a dull Katie Holmes – the role is still slightly underwritten, but Maggie makes the most of it), idealistic and straight shooting DA Harvey Dent (played by a confident and earnest Aaron Eckhart), and stand up police detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman in a wonderfully expanded role), even the tiniest of supporting players, i.e. Michael Caine's Alfred and Morgan Freeman's Lucius Fox, are given moments of grand importance.

Of course, the real hook here is the physical and psychological battle between Batman and the Joker, polar opposites who have more in common than one might expect. Nolan and his screenwriters (brother Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer) have done a superb job balancing a wide range of characters. And in fact, even Bruce Wayne and Batman share equal screen time.

Christian Bale is terrific as Bruce Wayne and Gotham's misunderstood hero bringing intensity and steely verve to both roles, although at times, I was a bit annoyed by his gruff, somewhat nasally Batman voice.

Of course, most eyes are on the late Heath Ledger. Is his turn as striking as you've been hearing? In a word, ABSOLUTELY! This is a go for broke performance brimming with fire. It is all at once intense, manic, hilarious, and terrifying. This isn't a redo of The Jokers of the past. Ledger takes this chilling, madman of a character and makes him all his own. Just watch how his nihilistic Joker makes a pencil disappear. It's a cinematic moment you'll never forget. A sick and twisted riot. The Joker, with his greasy hair, scarred face, and creepy self applied make-up, is a chaotic, manipulative, beast of a man who would gladly watch Gotham burn. No rhyme or reason. He's simply there to create chaos. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be anything in his undisclosed past that would render him a sympathetic man. The Joker does deliver devilish bits of dialogue describing where his horrific scars came from, but even those bits become a sick joke of sorts, further illustrating just how insane this guy truly is. Ledger is positively mesmerizing here, and his tragic passing lends a further haunting aura to this thought provoking, dramatic, and tragic morality tale.

At a whopping two and a half hours, The Dark Knight is given ample time to develop it's host of characters, and if I have any gripe at all, it would be Harvey Dent's storyline in which the likable DA eventually...well, those familiar with the Batman mythology are already aware of what his fate is. So much time is dedicated to Eckhart's portrayal of a decent, idealist out to make the world a better place, that when we do finally arrive to his pivotal crossroad, the proceedings feel a bit rushed. This is an arc that would have been best suited as a carry over into a future installment. It occurred to me that perhaps Nolan wanted to wrap things up rather than leave things ambiguous. In this case, I think maybe a little ambiguity would have been nice. Whatever the case may be, I do love where the movie ends up, and I suppose for the story to go where it ultimately does go, Dent's involvement is essential.

There is no defining suggestion as to whom might be the primary villain should the franchise continue, but one thing is certain; a dark road lies ahead for The Dark Knight, and I for one can't wait to see where that road takes him.

This has been a great summer for super-hero films. Yes, I too am tiring of a Hollwood that seems void (or afraid) of originality, but at least the quality of these comic book properties have been considerably stronger. Iron Man was outstanding, Hellboy 2 was a visual feast, The Incredible Hulk was a substantial improvement over Ang Lee's all too brooding take, and Hancock - while hardly worthy of being mentioned in the same league as these other pictures - didn't suck. Where does this leave Christopher Nolan's stunning Dark Knight? It's the best of the lot to be sure. It not only deserves a spot alongside Superman and Spider Man 2 as one of the greatest super hero adaptations of all time, but it also happens to be one of the very best pictures of 2008. My only regret was not seeing it in Imax, and I'll be doing that next week.

Grade: A-