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The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Eric Roberts, Rating: M – Violence

The Dark Knight certainly lives up to its hype as the best comic book adaptation of the year. John Favreau’s Iron Man is several lengths behind, but it’s nowhere as dark, violent, thrilling or creepy as this not-for-kids crime thriller.

Heath Ledger’s Joker manages to threaten, maim and kill while revealing various versions of his back story (“Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was… a drinker.”). The crusty old theme of duality is here as the Joker tells Batman, “you complete me” — and with the introduction of Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart), who chooses life or death with the flip of a coin.

Emotional story arcs don’t really happen with the two main characters — Batman, played by Christian Bale, largely observes the negative effects of his presence on Gotham from the shadows and the Joker rocks on in — fully formed, cold blooded and disfigured, with no need to show his origins.

But Lieutenant James Gordon (Gary Oldman) rises to the rank of Police Commissioner during this instalment. And Aaron Eckhart plays Gotham City’s golden boy District Attorney Harvey Dent, who vows to eradicate the local crime syndicates. Dent suffers horrible burns and is driven insane at the hands of the Joker, turning into Two-Face, possibly the most neglected but crucial villain in the Caped Crusader’s on-screen history. This is where the real story arc lies — between Batman, Gordon and Two-Face.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is convincing as Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne’s love interest, originally played by Katie Holmes in Batman Begins. What happens to Rachel along the way is key to the character development for Bruce Wayne, Batman and Harvey Dent.

In supporting roles are Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Wayne Enterprises CEO Lucius Fox. Cillian Murphy appears in a brief reprisal of his role as Scarecrow, which gives a welcome sense of continuity from Batman Begins. Also starring in smaller roles are Eric Roberts as mob boss Salvatore Maroni, Anthony Michael Hall as a reporter and William Fichtner as a bank manager.

The script, by director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan, has a few surprises. Scenes which at first look like a familiar crime film cliche are turned on their head — especially when it comes down to deciding whether the citizens of Gotham are worth saving in the first place.

It is very much a crime film, with similarities to Michael Mann’s Heat and even Don Siegel’s Dirty Harry. There are enough gadgets and tricked out vehicles to make any James Bond fan happy, although the emphasis is more on the physical — the fights are rough and painful looking, and sometimes when Batman falls a few stories, he just hits the ground with a thud.

That said, he’s still got a hang glider style cape, grappling hooks, winches and other escape aids. At one point he uses a Hercules freighter plane to evade capture from the upper floors of a Hong Kong skyscraper. And of course, there’s the Batmobile and Bat-Pod.

The Dark Knight is one heck of a thrilling ride, but it doesn’t skip the heavy drama to get there. There’s reason and motivation for just about everything; often a character will unwittingly deliver a line that foretells his fate.

A few confusing jumps in the editing and script inconsistencies ensure it’s not a perfect film (How did Harvey get out of the closet? How come Rachel says Bruce’s penthouse is the safest place in Gotham when the Joker showed up and assaulted guests there just the night before?), but it sure comes close and crams in enough story to satisfy the fussiest movie fan.

This is the new yardstick for the Batman legend and for any other director it’s virtually unrepeatable. But boy, am I keen to see Christopher Nolan’s next Bat-flick.

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Video: Trailer for The Dark Knight