If this sounds too serious, fear not, we also get to savor killer puns and bloody gags. Entering a mob meeting, The Joker slams a guy’s head on a pencil as a magic trick. Now, in all the publicity that came with The Dark Knight, I don’t think the violence was really explained to people. It is rated PG-13. But I say it’s a soft R. Some parents are going to have some explaining to do.

The film features elaborate chase sequences with suspenseful editing. However sometimes the editing gets confusing. Given the complex action, a couple of slip-ups are excusable. As any Bat Fans reading this can tell, I’m trying really HARD to say something negative about The Dark Knight.

I love seeing Dent’s descent into the moral abyss. Was his fall too fast? Maybe. I think it’s pretty lucky that a sleekly paced two and a half hour film only suffers a couple of scratches. This is a daring movie with startlingly good acting. Besides Heath Ledger, I think Aaron Eckhart was equally emotional as Dent. The Dark Knight is an enduring moment in the comic-book genre. It’s the first movie to show how a hero’s failures can define him as deeply as the successes. Thanks a lot, Christopher Nolan, for making this review hard on me as a critic.

Grade: A 

Cast:

• Bruce Wayne - Christian Bale
• Joker - Heath Ledger
• Harvey Dent - Aaron Eckhart
• Alfred - Michael Caine
• Rachel - Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Gordon - Gary Oldman
• Lucius Fox - Morgan Freeman