The fifth of the contemporary Batman films, 'The Dark Knight' takes off where 'Batman Begins' leaves off. Batman (played by Christian Bale) is successfully cleaning up the city, and he has the local mob leaders scared. Enter The Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers to rid Gotham City of the caped crusader, for a fee.

As a Hollywood blockbuster, this move doesn't disappoint. Despite its length, the movie remains fast-paced and action-packed with enough plot twists and red herrings to keep you guessing; more like two movies compressed into one, rather than dragging it out.It doesn't get bogged down in sacrificing its plotline by throwing in special effects. In that respect, I see parallels between some of the James Bond films, and Mission Impossible.It is definately the best of the Batman movies to date.

That said, there were some criticisms. Christian Bale and Health Ledger are both great actors, but I think their talents were a little wasted. Bruce Wayne and Batman are both somewhat wooden, two-dimensional characters and hard to do much with. I also felt like Heath was playing the role of Jack Nicholson, rather than making The Joker his own. Whether this was by design or not, I don't know. Overall, its not a very character driven movie; they are more like pieces being pushed through it.

While the plot was good, there were some things which seemed a little implausible, even within the framework of its own reality; some which could have been more plausible with a little more work. I also found there were a few inconsitencies between 'The Dark Knight' and the first three movies. If this is intended to be a prequel then it doesn't seem quite right. It looks as though they are looking to re-invent Batman with these last two films, than truly be prequels. Citing examples or go into much more depth would lead to spoilers, so I will leave it there.

Overall, a good film, especially if you like Batman, best seen on the big screen. 3.5 stars out of 5.