By Jeffrey Ray

five stars

It’s hard to overlook Heath Ledger’s death in the face of “The Dark Knight.” Hype for “The Dark Knight” reached a paramount after his death was announced. The Joker’s performance and the actor behind it threatened to over-blow the film itself. The cast and the crew all return for Christopher Nolan’s second adventure into the crime-ridden Gotham City, and quite stunningly top their previous “Batman Begins.” “Batman Begins” was excellent, portraying a dark grim world and a powerful superhero with his inner demons always haunting him. “The Dark Knight” manages to push the sequel into crime-epic territory, and little of the superhero grandeur expected from a comic-book adaptation can be seen. “The Dark Knight” is all the better for it. “The Dark Knight” is absolutely stunning.

Christian Bale returns as Batman/Bruce Wayne, this time as an essentially turmoil-ridden and confused hero. It’s a quietly effective performance which, if attempted by an actor with less caliber than Bale, would have deflated the movie. The villain, replacing Liam Neeson from “Batman Begins,” is The Joker, in the much-hyped performance by Heath Ledger. Never has a character thrilled and scared me in the manner in which Ledger’s Joker has managed to. A truly magnificent turn (which certainly deserves a Best Supporting Actor Oscar) which startles the viewer, does not let go even after the end credits. The supporting cast, as its predecessor, is solid from top to bottom. Michael Caine stands out as the father-figure and warm “accomplice.” Aaron Eckhart provides an effective rival as DA Harvey Dent, the “White Knight” who has fallen in love with Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), in a much more fulfilled role than what was seen in “Batman Begins.”

The action sequences are realistic and often brutal, occasionally pushing the boundaries of what can be shown in an unrestricted movie. Christopher Nolan shoots these scenes in a much less frenetic way than with “Batman Begins,” allowing the audience to experience the scenes and the characters rather than guessing. “The Dark Knight” is shot in a realistic manner, the stand-in for Gotham City being Chicago. It’s much more a crime-epic than a colorful superhero outing.

Few recent summer films have left me as thrilled and startled as “The Dark Knight.” Epic, spiraling, and ultimately unforgettable, “The Dark Knight” deserves all the accolades pressed upon it. It’s content like this which makes this movie critic believe again in the magic of cinema today.