Wow this film was amazing. Batman Begin's was awesome, and they've just refined, continued, and expanded upon it's universe for The Dark Knight. Hopefully they'll be able to keep the same high-standard and quality up for the next film (or possibly final film if it's intended to be a trilogy). Although it's a long film, it was never boring, and when there was action going on, it was relentless. I was delighted that for once they didn't kill off Batman's villains, and I'm really saddened that Heath Ledger is no longer with us to continue as the Joker. I really pity the actor that has to follow on from his portrayal. I can't wait to get this on DVD. This is a definite buy.

Plot Synopsis:

Batman has escalated his war on crime and is relentlessly pursuing the city's mafia elements. With the help of Jim Gordon and the new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, they are attacking the criminal syndicate's money holdings. The Joker pulls a daring heist on a mob owned bank. The criminals are becoming desperate, with problems from both Batman and the Joker.

Lucius Fox is investigating a business partnership with Mr Lau's company in Hong Kong, but suspects that his business dealings might not be legitimate. During the investigation, an accountant at Wayne Enterprises stumbles on the funding for Applied Sciences and discovers the plans for the Tumbler. He tries to blackmail Lucius. Lucius laughs off his suggestions that Bruce Wayne is Batman.

Mr Lau arranges to have all the syndicates money stored in a secure location. The Joker offers to help the syndicates by destroying the Batman in exchange for half the money. Lau returns to Hong Kong, and the police realising the connection between Lau and the syndicates are powerless to retrieve him. Batman travels to Hong Kong and abducts Lau, returning him to the Gotham police. Harvey Dent then has all the crime syndicate members arrested and prosecuted.

The Joker begins targeting the Police Commissioner, Harvey Dent, and the Judge responsible. He kills the Commissioner and Judge, but Harvey is rescued by Batman when the Joker attacks Bruce's charity function. Batman saves Rachel after the Joker drops her out the penthouse window. Bruce hopes that Rachel will continue to wait for him, as he thinks he will soon be able to set Batman aside and let Harvey Dent take over the war on crime. However Rachel has moved on with Harvey.

The Joker threatens to kill more people unless Batman reveals his identity to the public. When Jim Gordon is killed, Bruce considers giving in, but Alfred tells him to endure and continue on. Harvey comes forward as Batman, and is arrested by the police, hoping to lure out the Joker. Rachel is angry with Bruce for allowing Harvey to take the blame for Batman.

When Harvey is transported to the Gotham jails, the Joker attacks. Batman intervenes but the Tumbler is destroyed after catching a missile in the engine. Batman escapes after the remains of the Tumbler converts and releases the batpod. He pursues the Joker, disabling his truck by flipping it over with cables. He then faces down the Joker, and with the help of Jim Gordon captures the Joker. Jim had faked his own death to protect his family.

With the Joker in jail, the crime syndicates have Rachel Dawes and Harvey Dent abducted by some crooked cops. Jim Gordon is promoted to Commissioner. The Joker antagonises Batman, but eventually tells him that he has Harvey and Rachel in separate locations chained to barrels filled with gasoline. Batman can only save one of them. Batman goes to save Rachel and Gordon goes to save Harvey, but the addresses the Joker gave them are reversed. So Batman saves Harvey but Rachel is killed in the explosion. The left side of Harvey's face is badly burned.

The Joker escapes. When the lawyer from Wayne Enterprises goes to the media and say's he will reveal who Batman is, Joker intervenes and says he will destroy a hospital unless someone kills the lawyer within an hour. When citizens try to kill the lawyer, Gordon moves them to another location. Bruce discovers who the crooked cops were, and intervenes to save Jim and the lawyer's life.

Harvey (now 'Two Face') starts to go crazy and after some taunting by the Joker at the hospital, gets revenge on everyone who had anything to do with Joker's plan and Rachel's death. Joker destroys the hospital. Batman realises that the Joker has played them all from the start.

When Joker traps two groups of people on city ferries; one group of convicts and another of citizens, he tries to provoke them into killing each other with the detonators and explosives he's placed on each boat.

Batman uses Fox's cell-phone sonar technology to wire all of Gotham's cellphones together in an effort to locate the Joker. Lucius is angry that Bruce is using the technology to undermine everyone's freedom to privacy. He agrees to help this once, but will leave the company if the technology remains there. Batman eventually finds and captures Joker again. After a tense stand-off on the boats, neither group kills the other. The Joker is disappointed he cannot provoke people into chaos, but taunts Batman by telling him how he has failed, since Joker has corrupted Harvey.

Meanwhile, Harvey has kidnapped Gordon's family and taken them to the place where Rachel died. He blames Gordon because some of his officers (who were escorting Rachel and Harvey when they were abducted) were working with the Joker. Batman arrives saves Gordon's family, in the process causing Harvey to fall to his death.

Batman tells Gordon that Gotham does not need to know that their hero, attorney Harvey Dent became this monster, and that the only way to honor his memory is to say that Batman committed the murders Two-Face did, making Batman a wanted criminal. With Gordon as the commissioner and head of the Major Crimes Unit, Batman recommends that the city look to their police force for protection, so the Batsignal is destroyed.

In the aftermath, Gordon tells his son about the heroic figure that watches over Gotham, a Dark Knight named Batman.