Better than its predecessor Batman Begins and Tim Burton's 1989 Batman.

Better than the first two Spider-man films.

Better than X-Men 2.

Even better than this year's excellent newcomer Iron Man.

The thing all these movies have in common is that the heroes aren't just battling a rogue's gallery of colourful villains - they're also battling themselves and their own human failings.

Whereas Batman Begins was about Bruce Wayne coming to terms with who Batman is, The Dark Knight is about Batman coming to terms with what he represents to the people of Gotham City.

It's about the fine line between justice and vengeance and how doing the right thing can sometimes mean crossing to the dark side.

It's also about The Joker - a deliriously anarchic psychopath who leaps into the criminal vacuum created by the efforts of Batman, Lieutenant Gordon (Oldman) and district attorney Harvey Dent (Eckhart), and throws some seriously explosive spanners into the works.

Ledger's performance is a tour de force.

Forget Jack Nicholson's Joker - that was Jack playing The Joker. Ledger is The Joker, disappearing completely behind the scarred visage and clown paint and leaving nothing but a villain who finally lives up to his reputation as being the most evil and iconic comic book bad guy.

The Joker's presence does overshadow Batman, but that was bound to happen - flamboyance will always stand out next to brooding.

Director Christopher Nolan strikes a good balance between the action scenes and the mind games.

Amid the explosions, every character is forced by The Joker to question ethics, cross moral lines and potentially do wrong in order to do right. It's this psychological edge that really make The Dark Knight stand out.

There are a few cheesy moments but it's hard to fault the film. It looks stunning, the performances are excellent, the themes and character arcs are complex and engaging, the action is tough, the plot never lets up and Ledger's Joker is one for the ages.