“Do I look like a man with a plan?” The Joker (Heath Ledger). British Director Christopher Nolan, courtesy of brother Jonathon’s screenplay has taken the hackneyed Batman franchise and turned it into classical myth. It is by far the most philosophical of the Batman movies and I doubt whether Nolan’s take on the character could have been made by an American Director.

All the usual suspense and frenetic action, devotees of either the films or the original DC comics would expect is here; brilliantly realized, inventively filmed and masterfully edited. Its dark, visual tone captures all the ambiguities and conflicts of its enigmatic, incognito hero’s exploits. But Nolan has redefined Batman and our sense of who he is and what he is about. Though meeting all the entertainment expectations of the Batman series, Nolan has used the familiar narrative context to explore some tricky, contemporary moral issues to add depth to the distinctive style of Goth-(ic)-am City and its ever-vigilant vigilante guardian.

Pompous though it sounds, Dark Knight pitches existential hero against existential villain. Nolan’s Batman is a reluctant hero, full of angst both about the reliance of Gotham City citizens upon his super-powered interventions and the consequences upon his own sense of moral integrity of what this reliance forces him to do.

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