This may seem like faint praise, but about the highest compliment I can give Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight right now is to say that there were many long stretches during which I didn't even realize it was a superhero movie

Too much psychology and not enough pop. It's possible to be too serious, you know.

You will feel utterly numb after the screening of The Dark Knight. The film is bleak and brilliant.

The world of Batman may continually endure, but the shadow this entry has cast is long. It’s a standard that’s hard to overcome in the years since, for better and worse.