The Dark Knight is a 2008 American superhero film co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is a sequel to Batman Begins (2005). Christian Bale reprises the lead role. Batman's primary conflicts in the film include his fight against his arch-nemesis the Joker (Heath Ledger) and his strained friendship with district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart).

Plot

The film begins with the Joker robbing a mob-owned bank. That night, multiple Batman impersonators interrupt a meeting between mobsters and the Scarecrow. The real Batman shows up and subdues everyone, but injuries suffered during the confrontation lead him to design a new, more versatile suit of armor. Batman and Lieutenant James Gordon contemplate including the new district attorney Harvey Dent in their plan to eradicate the mob, as he could be the hero Batman cannot be. Harvey Dent is found to be dating Wayne's love interest, Rachel Dawes. The mob bosses meet to discuss how to handle Batman, Gordon, and Dent, while a Chinese mobster accountant, Lau, lets the gang leaders know he has taken their money to Hong Kong to prevent the police and the district attorney from seizing it in an imminent bank raid. The Joker arrives unexpectedly, offering to kill Batman for pay.

After Batman successfully abducts Lau in Hong Kong and delivers him to the Gotham City police, the mobsters agree to hire the Joker. The Joker tells all of Gotham that if the Batman does not turn himself in to the police, that more people will die each day. When the Joker begins killing off public officials, including Commissioner Loeb, Wayne decides to turn himself in to the police. Before he can do so, Dent publicly admits to being "the Batman" to draw the Joker out of hiding. The Joker attempts to kill Dent during transport, but Gordon and Batman intervene and arrest him.

With the Joker in custody, Batman interrogates the Joker until he reveals that Rachel and Dent have been taken to opposite sides of the city, far-enough apart that Batman does not have time to save both of them. Batman speeds off to save Rachel, while Gordon and the police head after Dent. Unknown to them, the Joker has switched the locations, sending Batman after Dent and Gordon after Rachel. With the help of a pre-planted phone bomb, the Joker escapes with Lau in tow. Batman arrives and rescues Dent just as both buildings explode, although the left side of Dent's face is burned during the explosion. Rachel is killed when Gordon fails to reach her in time. In the hospital, Dent is driven to madness over the loss of Rachel, which he blames on Batman, Gordon and the Joker. The Joker frees Harvey from the hospital and convinces him to exact revenge on the cops, mobsters, Gordon and Batman.

While "Harvey Two-Face" confronts the corrupt cops and the mobsters one by one, flipping a coin to decide their fates, the Joker burns Lau along with the mob's money. The Joker then declares that he will rule the streets and that anyone left in Gotham at nightfall will be subject to his rule. That night, the Joker realizes his threat by planting explosives on two ferries of evacuees, one filled with prison convicts and the other with civilians, giving the passengers on each the opportunity to destroy the opposing vessel.

Batman tracks the Joker to an uncompleted skyscraper. Batman prevents the Joker from blowing up the ferries when both vessels' occupants decide they would rather not sacrifice the lives of the passengers in the other vessel for their own. After Batman defeats the Joker, the Joker reveals the threat that Dent/Two-face now poses. Batman finds Gordon and his family with Dent at the building where Rachel died. Two-Face proceeds to judge Batman, himself, and Gordon's son through the chance of a coin flip, which he sees as the only fairness left in the world. Two-Face shoots Batman in the stomach, but before he can determine the boy's fate, Batman tackles him over the side of the building, saving Gordon's son. As Dent lies motionless on the ground, Batman and Gordon realize the fallout and moral loss the city would suffer if Dent's acts of murder became known. Batman convinces Gordon to blame him for the murders to preserve Dent's image. As Gordon destroys the Bat-Signal, a manhunt is issued for Batman.

Reception

Based on 223 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, The Dark Knight has an average overall approval rating of 95 percent, with a weighted average score of 8.5/10. Among Rotten Tomatoes's Cream of the Crop, which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 90 percent. By comparison, Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, calculated an average score of 82 from the 39 reviews it collected.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times describes The Dark Knight as a "haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy." He praises the performances, direction, and writing, and says the film "redefine[s] the possibilities of the comic-book movie". Ebert states that the "key performance" is by Heath Ledger, and ponders whether he will become the first posthumous Academy Award winner since Peter Finch in 1976. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone writes that the film is deeper than its predecessor, with a "deft" script that refuses to scrutinize the Joker with popular psychology, instead pulling the viewer in with an examination of Bruce Wayne's psyche, while David Denby of The New Yorker holds that the story is not coherent enough to properly flesh out the disparities. He says the film's mood is one of "constant climax", and that it feels rushed and far too long. Denby criticizes scenes which he argues are meaningless or are cut short just as they become interesting. Todd Gilchrist of IGN remarks that, unlike most "mythology"-centred films, The Dark Knight covers everything concerning the logical or conceptual challenges such films present, giving the viewer everything they expect, but in ways which catch the viewer off-guard. David Ansen in Newsweek says the film is "impressive" in discussing the moral dilemma at its heart: the question about whether a vigilante has to abandon his code in order to defeat the villain.