One of the best and probably the most artistically ambitious superhero movie ever put on celluloid, “The Dark Knight” delivers a walloping impact of intense drama, action and good-versus-evil conflict. Batman faces his archenemy the Joker, who comes out of nowhere to wreak havoc in Gotham City. By far the best of Christopher’s Nolan Batman trilogy, this movie has some amazing scenes that have become classic—all of them involving the Joker. Heath Ledger gave a masterful performance as the Joker, perhaps taking the role too close to heart; he locked himself in a hotel room for a month to prepare for the role, and he died from drug overdose shortly before the movie’s release. On second viewing, I couldn’t help notice how much the movie pushes a negative, atheist, nihilistic and almost hopeless philosophy, presenting Batman as a flawed god like ancient mythology, one who must become the lesser evil to defeat the greater one. Such philosophy doesn’t take away from the movie, which is nevertheless an artistic achievement.

Extra:

• Despite Ledger’s strong performance in “The Dark Knight,” many Batman fans consider Mark Hamill (Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker) to be the authoritative Joker. Hamill provided the voice of the Joker in the 1990s Batman animated series and was considered for “The Dark Knight.” Hamill also played the Trickster in two of the best episodes of the live-action “Flash” TV series, but he essentially was playing the Joker, and he showed us what the Joker could have been in “The Dark Knight.”