Still, criminals have Gotham City in a tizzy, beginning with that riveting bank heist, and Wayne’s brutal nocturnal exploits spawning a wave of copycat vigilantes. Behind that bank robbery is the Joker, a disfigured arch-criminal less interested in the money and more in unmasking the caped crusader. Teaming up with the city's mobsters, his sole mission in life is to reveal the man in black’s identity.

He doesn’t really care about the money, though, which actually belongs to the mob. He’s not motivated by money or power or sex or politics or hate. The Joker's only pleasure is to create chaos and to devise fiendish plots that leave Batman, Dent and even Gotham’s citizens in dire consequences.

As the movie progresses, Batman's behavior increasingly puts the "dark" in "Dark Knight, giving the story more of a crime drama feel than a superhero movie. With his crisp editing and magical command of pace, Nolan has eliminated almost all the pulpy, comic-book aspects of Batman.

Minor characters - paramour Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal, replacing Katie Holmes) and the squeaky-clean, tough-on-crime DA, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) add little to the table. Gyllenhaal particularly doesn't connect emotionally with either Bale or Eckhart, both seeking her affections.