Since Batman’s creation in 1939 there have been many different takes on the character and the universe. In the medium of film alone there has been the wacky and downright silly 1966 Batman movie, then there was Tim Burton’s stylised Batman films in 1989 and 1992 followed by Joel Schumacher’s much maligned Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Then in 2005 Christopher Nolan (Momento, The Prestige) directed Batman Begins with a vision of sinister realism.

This brings us to Nolan’s second Batman film; The Dark Knight. Aside from Schumacher’s films, I have immensely enjoyed all of the previous Batman films – all for different reasons. It used to be that I couldn’t say which Batman film stood out as being the greatest of them all. But now I can easily say that The Dark Knight is the best Batman film ever made – and arguably the best comic-to-film adaptation to date.

Following on from Batman Begins, The Dark Knight continues the tale of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale); a millionaire who dons a costume to assume the role of a vigilante hero called Batman. Making use of his wealth, a host of gadgets and the assistance from his friends, Batman is making headway in shutting down the crime gangs of Gotham City. The few friends he has are his butler Alfred (Michael Caine), employee Lucius (Morgan Freeman), Detective Gordon (Gary Oldman) and childhood friend Rachael Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Constantly struggling against opposing forces, Batman sees a future through district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). At the same time, a sadistic villain known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) begins to plunge Gotham City even deeper into dismay and chaos.

Of course, the vast majority of our readership has probably already seen The Dark Knight – possibly at an IMAX cinema where it had been booked out solid for weeks in advance. So it’s quite widely known that The Dark Knight is supremely awesome. Also well known is the sad loss of Heath Ledger, who played The Joker. The Dark Knight was Heath’s last film he completed, though he was also mid-way through shooting Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The loss of Heath is compounded because not only have we lost a talented person, but we have also lost this terrifying and enthralling character he has created.

It’s interesting that whereas Batman Begins delayed the emergence of Batman for a full hour, The Dark Knight starts by introducing the films villain, The Joker, in the opening scene. This may be due to the fact that The Joker is awesome in every way. With a white cracked face, dishevelled hair, eyes piercing out from sockets dripping with black, a red scar of a grin and an oddly sinister purple suit, the entire visual design of The Joker evokes the darkness of and immorality of the character perfectly. Bringing it all together is Heath Ledger’s performance. He plays the character more like a horror villain than a comic book villain as he is endlessly terrifying. Not since Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs) has a villain instilled such unease and fear in me. Both mischievously nonchalant and sadistically violent, The Joker commands your attention. You relish his presence while simultaneously cowering in it. Even the way he speaks is unsettling, with a voice as dry as a desert and a habit of smacking his lips. But most vitally, The Joker and all that he stands for entwines perfectly with the grim, dirty world of Gotham City; a city which is chillingly familiar.

Over the course of the 152 minute running time, the story unfolds much like that of a good, thick book. The odds continually stack against Batman to the point where you cannot see any way out – which makes for an absorbing and unpredictable tale. Though when I say unpredictable, there is some beautifully ironic foreshadowing. Essentially, The Dark Knight is a tragedy about the few good people fighting for a city populated by enemies. These enemies aren’t just The Joker and the crime gangs, but also an unknown number of corrupt police and the citizens of the city who are largely uncaring and amoral. Eventually, the film raises the question: are the people of Gotham City even worth saving? The crowing glory of the film (and why Nolan’s approach works so well) is that you end up wondering if our own world is as flawed and as grim as Gotham City. The Dark Knight presents a bleak view on the world and human nature. What makes it both beautiful and terrifying is the sting of truth in it all.

Along with being a beautifully realized film, The Dark Knight amends the two glaring faults of the previous film. One of the weak points of Batman Begins was the love story between Bruce Wayne and Rachael Dawes. It just didn’t feel genuine. The mentally seemed to be this: he’s a man, she’s a woman – and they both grew up together. Therefore, they must develop a romantic interest in one another. But thankfully, this isn’t the case in The Dark Knight. Originally the character was played by Katie Holmes, but here Maggie Gyllenhaal walks into the role with ease. Committed to being Batman, Bruce is unable to commit to Rachael. By focusing on the impossibility of there ever being a relationship between the two you get a must more potent sense of how much they care for one another – far more than any explicit romance would have conveyed.

The other flaw of Batman Begins was the hand-to-hand combat sequences. These used tightly framed shots and fast cuts to disorientating effect. Thankfully, Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister listened to this criticism and now close quarters combat is covered in a single handheld camera shot. This approach works really well as not only does a single shot eliminate confusion, but also adds much to the force and believability of fighting. That said, some of the other action sequences have their disorientating moments, as Nolan still favours a moving camera and a fairly quick pace of editing. But the disorientation doesn’t happen enough to detract from the impact of the action.

Though I wouldn’t call The Dark Knight an action film; it’s a psychotic cinema experience. That said, it does have some vicious action sequences. Equally vicious is the soundscape, which is incredibly immersive. The sound design delves deep into the lower frequencies so that the film has a soundscape as menacing as its content. For example, the sound of a gun firing isn’t just a “bang,” but a burst of soundwaves that remind you of the deadly potency of the weapon. The only criticism I can raise here is that a couple of times a line or two of dialogue was lost in the mix.

All up, the film has a fantastic quality to both the visual and audio design. The practical effects are spectacular and the CGI is seamless. Unfortunately, special effects technician Conway Wickliffe died in the making of this film whilst testing a car stunt.

Though Batman and Joker don elaborate costumes, the style remains realistic enough to be believable. Interestingly, another new technique in this film is the peculiar way they make use of the focus. Pfister makes equal use of wide angle and telephoto lenses, but in a number of scenes with The Joker the focus is constantly shifting. It’s subtle and those black eyes are always sharp – but it’s there. It may just be due to the The Joker keeps moving, but it also has an additional unsettling effect. Nothing in this film seems stable and everything is dangerous.

Batman is an interesting concept for a superhero, as he is without any super powers. Even so, he’s brutally competent at taking down squads of gang members and his arsenal of moves and gadgets would impress both Big Boss and Solid Snake. They would also be impressed by his smokes-twenty-packs-a-day voice. Though the Batman’s voice disguise no longer fluctuates as it did in Batman Begins, the severe gruffness is still initially disconcerting. But that feeling soon dissipates as the need to hide all aspects of Batman’s identity becomes apparent. Though skilled and strong as Batman, Bruce Wayne is a sympathetic character who has given up most of his life (and Rachael) for Gotham City. Rather than it being a story of the hero struggling to defeat a more powerful villain (such as Spiderman versus Doctor Octopus in Spiderman 2), Batman has to struggle with a bigger picture and The Joker’s ability to keep out of reach. It’s not just a matter of defeating the villain, but a struggle to resolve deep-rooted problems throughout an unjust city and its inhabitants.

Despite the bafflingly inappropriate Hungry Jacks tie-in, this is not a film that kids should see. It’s violent, sadistic, disturbing and all-round a very adult film. It’s also a film that I would have gladly let run for an extra couple of hours. As unnerving as the experience is, it becomes wickedly absorbing. This is cinema as art and as an experience.