I've always been a fan of Batman bomics, but until these two most recent movies, there've never been any Batman movies that could be taken seriously as films. Christian Bale returns as Bruce Wayne/Batman in "Dark Knight," and did a stunning job, as did Heath Ledger as The Joker. In fact, it was in no small part thanks to the Joker character that this was the best comic book movie ever made. If this performance doesn't win Best Performance at the Oscars, the award is forever cheapened. In the film, Gotham City is given a new hero in DA Harvey Dent, whilst a lunatic bent on causing chaos and anarchy earns the trust of Gotham's crime ring by promising to kill Batman. The movie is extremely well-written, with a plot that can be enjoyed by both the deepest thinkers and the causual action movie lovers. The stuntwork and special effects are sick, and the acting is sublime. This movie, in my opinion, is taking comic book movies and making them fair-game for the rest of movies. This could go toe to toe with any other drama or action movie and come out unscathed. The only drawback would be among fans of the original Batman with Adam West, who might share the Joker's sentiments: "Why So Serious?"