The Dark Knight follows in the tradition of the Empire Strikes Back by being a bigger, deeper, and DARKER movie than the original while still maintaining a sense of continuity with the original film as well as some occasional humor. Its what you'd expect it to be and so much more. A true tragedy and triumph (both off and on screen) all at once.
If you are a fan of the comic book or the original TV series, you will love this movie. Like Iron Man, this film satisfies movie audiences with spectacular action scenes, top notch effects, and an intriguing story thats well acted. It seems that after some bumps in the road including the original Ang Lee "Hulk", Marvel is finally figuring out how to convert their classic comics into great movies.