Director: Christopher Nolan, 12A, 152min

Stars: Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger

On general release

Welcome back into the twisted psyche of the most damaged superhero of them all. The Dark Knight is every bit as sophisticated and stylish as Batman Begins, and is, if possible, even darker.

Bruce Wayne (Bale) dreams of a future when Gotham City no longer needs a caped vigilante and he can settle down with his former love Rachel (Gyllenhaal). But Rachel is now with Gotham’s other hope of salvation, the idealistic district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). And retirement is not an option for either man while the Joker (Ledger) is terrorising the city.

The Bat in the previous film was a creature of the night. In this film, he is forced out of his natural habitat and into the day, but the chilly cobalt tones of the film’s colour palette suggest the lingering threat of twilight. The Joker, meanwhile, is a monster who feeds on chaos and fear. There are no limits to his destructive power, no motive to his malice other than a passion for knives and anarchy.

Ledger is chilling – his Joker smacks his lips obscenely as he taunts his victims. He recognises in Batman a certain kinship, a shared madness. The CGI-heavy conclusion aside, this is phenomenally powerful stuff, infused with a brooding intelligence and anger. This tortured Bat is truly a hero for our troubled times.

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