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The follow-up to the action hit "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight"reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who reprises the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and the committed new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham City for good. The triumvirate initially proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces The Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante.

Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain") portrays
arch-villain The Joker, and Aaron Eckhart plays District Attorney Harvey Dent. Maggie Gyllenhaal joins the cast in the role of Rachel Dawes. Returning from "Batman Begins" are Gary Oldman as Lieutenant Jim Gordon; Oscar winner Michael Caine ("The Cider House Rules") as Alfred; and Oscar winner Morgan Freeman ("Million Dollar Baby") as Lucius Fox.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a
Syncopy Production, a Christopher Nolan film, "The Dark Knight." Nolan directed the film from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers. "The Dark Knight" is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes two-time Oscar-nominated
director of photography Wally Pfister ("The Prestige," "Batman Begins"), Oscar nominated production designer Nathan Crowley ("The Prestige"), Oscar nominated editor Lee Smith ("Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World") and Oscar-winning costume designer Lindy Hemming ("Topsy-Turvy"). The music is by Oscar winner and multiple Oscar nominee Hans Zimmer ("The Lion King," "Gladiator") and seven-time Oscar nominee James Newton Howard ("Michael Clayton," "The Fugitive"), who previously collaborated on the score for "Batman Begins." Six sequences of "The Dark Knight" were filmed with IMAX® cameras, including the opening six minutes. This marks the first time ever that a major feature film has been even partially shot using IMAX cameras, marking a revolutionary integration of the two film formats. The IMAX Experience® will appear in IMAX DMR (letterbox), while scenes shot with IMAX cameras on 15/70mm film will expand vertically to fill the entire IMAX screen, which can be up
to eight stories tall, for an all-encompassing moviegoing experience.

"The Dark Knight" will be distributed worldwide in theatres and IMAX by
Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"The Dark Knight" has been rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of
violence and some menace."

One word: Phenomenal! That is the best way I can describe the latest film in the Batman franchise, "The Dark Knight." The film is a follow-up to director Christopher Nolan's 2005 "Batman Begins" and takes viewers on a darker, more somber, ride through the streets of Gotham City. This time around Nolan is at his cinematic best, portraying the good and evil sides of this cast of characters with glorious finesse.

In the film, Batman (Christian Bale) is fed up with being the hero and wants to turn over the batsuit to newly appointed District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) in a ploy to turn the public's eye away from viewing him as a vigilante killer. He would also like to put a halt on the growing relationship between Dent and his love interest, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). To add to the mix, a psychopathic supervillain known as The Joker (Heath Ledger) has Gotham City in upheaval by recruiting all of the city's criminals on a mission to kill "the Batman" once and for all.

The film clocked in at a little over two-and-a-half hours, but never once did I find myself checking the clock. The Dark Knight was completely enthralling from start to finish, with edge of your seat action sequences and spot-on dialogue between characters that propelled the story forward with never a dull moment to be found.

Stellar performances were provided by the entire cast, with Bale solid as usual reprising his role as the "caped crusader" - in my opinion, the best we have seen filling the batsuit. Words can not even begin to describe the exceptional performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker. He brought darkness and true insanity to the character at a level that has never been done before; this was the role of a lifetime for Ledger, and his performance lived up to all the hype. Just brilliant! Tragically, due to Ledger's untimely passing, he will not be able to enjoy his crowning glory for this role. I certainly can not forget to make mention of Aaron Eckhart's excellent job of playing Harvey Dent/TwoFace; he showed true acting ability with the transformation of the character throughout the course of the film.

"The Dark Knight" was truly one of the best super-hero film adaptations I have ever seen, and I am hoping Nolan is up for the task of continuing this tale on to the next installment.

- Kristyn