It’s easy to see why most people would avoid movies based on superheros; because of that inevitable, hackneyed good over evil war. And it’s easy to see why most people would still want to watch The Dark Knight; because in a Batman movie there is just no telling how the war will end.

Sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight has retained all the elements that made the first a box office hit and then added some more. Based on the DC comic series that introduced Joker and Two-Face, the movie gives Batman a new suit, the much hyped bike, Batpod, and a new set of difficult decisions to take.

What sets Batman apart from other superheros is that he in fact has no super powers! And the Nolan brothers (who penned the screenplay) exploit this to the fullest, giving us an intelligent, yet vulnerable and angst-ridden Bruce Wayne (Batman’s alter ego) who must sacrifice his own interests for the safety of Gotham’s denizens.

Perhaps the District Attorney’s transformation into Two-Face could do with better justification. Still, Nolan’s genius as director is undeniable in the racy action sequences, macabre violence minus graphic detailing and in subtly letting Batman’s character take over Bruce, until you don’t need to see a batsuit to feel like rescue is at hand.

But mostly the movie will be noted for an unforgettable and, paradoxically, heroic interpretation of the anti-hero Joker. Heath Ledger, with his running mascara highlighting the crevices of his painted face, plays the sinister ‘clown’ whose mocking one-liners (‘Why so serious?’) will have you cowering in your seat.

In a performance, that will unfortunately come to be known as his last, Ledger keeps from portraying Joker as a caricature and instead gives us a chilling, anarchist villain, reminiscent of Alex from A Clockwork Orange.

It would be wrong to assume that the movie is only for comic lovers. Though, by the end of it, you might just find yourself a convert.