No week passes without the marquee domination of yet another comic book or superhero film. Yet despite this overwhelming and even numbing regularity in moviegoers’ diet, bizarrely, this summer seems to be one when quantity is indeed matched by quality. We’ve now had the unusual warmth, conflict and humanity of Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man; we’ve had the glorious return of Hellboy amid Guillermo Del Toro’s breathtaking imagination. If these suggested that the nominally eye-popping, money-generating genre might be taken to a new level, then The Dark Knight is the film that finally delivers on the promise of comic books as a source of a serious, challenging and ultimately satisfying film experience. The Dark Knight is among the best films of the year and might just be the best comic book movie ever made.

Director Christopher Nolan already laid a veritable claim on the title with Batman Begins, his first treatment of this most intriguing of comic book characters when he made an effort to construct a rational origins story and it paid huge dividends. Nolan did make a Batman film, which, for the first time, was about its titular character rather than about his illustrious over-the-top adversaries. In doing so, he did make it matter who played Batman – whereas Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney could plug themselves in and out of the loud and motley thrill ride, Christian Bale is magnetic and intriguing to the point of being indispensable in The Dark Knight. His brooding looks put him in the center of a genuine and gripping tragedy of making impossible choices.

Those are brought about by the appearance of Batman’s definitive antagonist. The Joker is an angel of chaos and vengeance and is the Dark Knight’s quintessential opposite. It is his actions that shed the light on the best hidden corners of Batman’s persona and thus define him fully. It is made possible by a breathtaking performance by the late Heath Ledger. He is as removed from the macabre hysterical version of Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton’s Batman as this essentially human story requires. His Joker is intelligent, outspoken and sinister in the most calm and subversive of ways. There is a strong case and a strong possibility that Ledger might be the first posthumous Oscar recipient in a very long time, but this talk cannot take away anything from the power of his performance.

The rest of the cast, which is a director’s dream, and which includes Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhardt, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Maggie Gyllenhal, is also used wisely and each of them is allowed to shine and contribute to the story. Director Nolan also does not forget that this is a summer event movie, which will make its money from a mass of viewers who’d like to see their car chases, fights and near escapes. All of these are present and are executed with startling precision and seamlessly integrated effects. What Nolan achieves here is to make all these material, an essential part of everything that unfolds, and the combination of writing, storytelling, acting and spectacle is genuinely electrifying. This is filmmaking of the highest order and the most provoking and rewarding experience you are likely to get from a summer blockbuster.