Why so serious?

The Dark Knight, director Christopher Nolan's sequel to Batman Begins, has hit theaters and well surpasses its predecessor in scope and story.

It has been a year since the events of Batman Begins, and the criminals of Gotham City are losing their power. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) still leads his double life, spending his days as a billionaire playboy and his nights in the guise of the caped crime fighter, Batman. As he continues his one-man fight against crime, the efforts of the new district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) are hurting organized crime, but the criminals are nowhere near finished.

The movie begins with a heist at a mob-run bank by criminals dressed in clown masks. The criminals kill one another off one by one. The last clown standing removes his mask, revealing the painted face of The Joker (the late Heath Ledger).

That night, Batman breaks up a meeting between some mobsters and an antagonist from Batman Begins - the Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy). During the same scene he has to stop and save several gun-toting copycat Batmen.

Also returning are Bruce's friend, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), a technology supplier who is now CEO of Wayne Enterprises; Bruce's butler, father figure and mentor, Alfred (Michael Caine); and Bruce's long-time friend and would-be love interest from Batman Begins, Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal.) New dimensions to Rachel and Bruce's story are Rachel's relationship with Harvey Dent and the tension it creates among the three characters.

The plot is fast-moving, engaging and thoroughly enjoyable. It rarely, if ever, drags and keeps you guessing and engaged until the end.

The movie is as much about Batman as it is about his arch nemesis, The Joker. Ledger's incredible portrayal of the sociopathic clown serial killer really makes the movie. In contrast to other versions of The Joker, such as Jack Nicholson's portrayal from the 1989 Batman movie, Ledger's Joker is far more sinister and frightening. It would be safe to say that Ledger's version is perhaps the best Joker ever portrayed.

Among the best aspects of The Dark Knight is its realism. Gotham looks like a believable city. The characters and their motivations are well developed and plausible. Even the technology is plausible. Batman's new "cave" is something that could easily exist in reality.

The Dark Knight is a great movie, filled with fantastic action and a terrific story line. It also is remarkable in that it raises such deep philosophical questions as what makes a hero and what can cause a man to fall.

It is well worth seeing more than once.