And the dilemmas are plentiful, indeed, as The Joker's schemes are carried out. Not only is Batman faced with the threat of people dying the longer he keeps his identity a secret, he is forced to decide between saving Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) or Harvey Dent, both trapped between drums of gasoline, wired to explode, and placed on opposite sides of Gotham, leaving him enough time to save only one of them. Another dilemma involves Batman's desperate expansion of Lucius Fox's (Morgan Freeman) cell phone sonar technology to listen to every cell phone conversation in Gotham. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but has Batman gone too far? When does it become justifiable to break the law in order to enforce it? Lucius, in a fit of moral pique, threatens to leave if his technology is used in this way. The pulsating visual effect of the sonar, as Batman hunts The Joker, is stunning.

Between the dilemmas and the drama, there is a beautiful scene of Batman gliding across the Gotham skyline, carried aloft by his rigid cape spreading out like enormous bat wings, and a disarming scene of The Joker enjoying the wind blowing across his face as he leans out of the police car he has stolen to make his escape.

The Joker's anarchistic aplomb reaches its zenith when he challenges two packed ferries of people to save themselves by blowing up the other ferry first, otherwise he will blow up both of them. Who will be the first to save themselves? Or will Batman reach the detonator in time and stop The Joker before he kills again?

Hold off on the Coke and popcorn. This is a movie to savor and ponder and feel with all of your undivided attention. Oscar, meet The Dark Knight. I think it's time you two got to know each other.