“The Black Knight” is sinisterly masterful. It's a summer blockbuster that envisions near-total civic disaster: Crowds surge, tractor-trailers overturn and buildings explode, but the pop violence feels heavy and grim. The light barely escapes the gravitational pull of the film. Yet, in this 10-ton expressionist darkness, a sick butterfly with stringy hair and a maniacal laugh flutters. Played by a dead actor, he's the most alive thing here. It's not entirely fair to say that the late Heath Ledger steals "The Dark Knight" from Christian Bale and the forces of good (problematic), but, as the Joker, he is the animated principle of the film and the anarchic spark - an unstoppable force colliding with the immovable objects of Batman and the ambitions of director Christopher Nolan. Much more serious in its intent and message than 2005's "Batman Begins," "Dark Knight" would be fatally heavy without Ledger's evil little goblin. As it stands, the film tends at its own Wagnerian seams. “Knight” begins where “Begins” left off, with Gotham City desperately trying to wrest itself from the grip of the underworld. New mob boss Salvatore Maroni (Eric Roberts) makes deals with the Russians and Chinese while the media tries to determine whether this Batman is a hero or a vigilante. The imitation Batmen are unleashed, led by the Scarecrow from the previous film (Cillian Murphy, in a brief, unexplained appearance). And someone is robbing Gotham's banks, leaving behind a Joker as their calling card. Is Lt. Gordon (Gary Oldman) of the Major Crimes Unit somehow involved in the heists or is he just taking the opportunity to seize the bad guys' property? What does the new prosecutor, a white knight named Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) want? Why does Wa...... middle of paper ......e The Incredible Hulk" look like, well, comic books. The question of whether a real hero is a man of regular procedure like Harvey Dent or a "dark "The Dark Knight" who breaks the rules and gets innocent people killed worries throughout the film, reaching a climax that forces us to confront exactly what murdering someone is could do to the average man's soul. “The Dark Knight” pushes the limits of power. and surveillance as well, casting a shadow over Batman while leaving his tech guru (Morgan Freeman) in the light (Michael Caine's Alfred, meanwhile, acts as the Caped Crusader's enabler, politely urging him to stay the course. ) These are good and necessary things to ponder, but they are almost lost in the cross-cutting clutter. You emerge impressed, oppressed, provoked and dejected, clinging to Ledger's squirrelly incandescence like a beacon in the darkness..