The Dark Knight (2008)

After Batman Begins brought the Caped Crusader back to the top of the box office, fans’ expectations began to skyrocket that the eventual sequel would further expand on director Christopher Nolan’s newly launched vision of Gotham City. The resulting film — tainted by the tragic death of star Heath Ledger before it ever hit theaters — managed to surpass not only Nolan’s own predecessor but blow past all previous Batman films to become the highest-grossing and most critically praised film ever made featuring the character. The Dark Knight boiled down a series of complex ideas regarding morality, justice, chaos and anarchy into a rich narrative that provided an entire generation with a new definitive Batman-versus-the-Joker story nearly 20 years after Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson faced off in Tim Burton’s initial Bat-film. If Superman: The Movie proved that comic book films could be box office hits, then The Dark Knight proved just how much style and artistry a filmmaker can bring to the source material.