If Batman Begins raised the bar for comic book movies, then Christopher Nolan's 2008 follow-up took that bar and launched it into oblivion. By all accounts, The Dark Knight isn't even a comic book movie; it's an ambitious crime saga that explores archetypal notions of good versus evil with psychological acuity, epic scope and moral complexity. So what if it happens to feature a guy running around in a Bat-suit?

The film picks up a few years after the end of Begins and finds the Dark Knight (Bale) in the midst of a war against crime, covertly aided by Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Oldman) and newly elected District Attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Their continued efforts to rid Gotham of its criminal underworld are finally giving its citizens hope for the future, but everything changes when a maniacal criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Ledger) unleashes his reign of chaos upon the city.

Every hero needs a great villain, and Heath Ledger's iconic performance as The Joker is as good as it gets - demented, frightening and mesmerising in equal measure - and well-deserving of his posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. But Ledger's Joker is just the tip of the iceberg in a film packed with a plethora of iconic, unforgettable moments. Be sure to catch this provocative, visually thrilling epic once again - or for the first time, if you've just woken up from a coma - on the big screen before The Dark Knight Rises next week. You know you want to.