The Dark Knight (2008)

More ambitious than his 2005 reboot, Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan's blockbuster plunges into a murky, morally ambiguous world where rules are meant to be broken. The madness is driven by Heath Ledger, whose seething anarchist Joker makes Jack Nicholson's once-iconic dandy now seem as clownish as Cesar Romero's. But the late actor is largely ignored in an underwhelming collection of The Dark Knight's extras. We learn about the Joker's musical cue — think ''razor blades on strings,'' according to a featurette on the score — but nothing about the character or Ledger. The two-disc special edition does present six action scenes in IMAX's superior panoramic framing, but that enhancement is diminished on the small screen. Luckily, the pitch-perfect performances and intricate stunts are not. The Dark Knight: A– Extras: C

You Might Also Like

• Movie News Recipe for a blockbuster (May 22, 2008) | Adam Markovitz
• Movie Review The Dark Knight (Jul 18, 2008) | Owen Gleiberman
• Movie News Blockbusters got smart (May 02, 2008) | Adam B. Vary
• ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR 'The Dark Knight': Entertainers of the year (Jul 18, 2008) | Jeff Jensen
• Movie Commentary 'Dark Knight': Oscar-worthy? (Jul 18, 2008) | Mark Harris
• Movie News Hollywood's high-grossing summer (Jul 18, 2008) | Nicole Sperling