10 Reasons The Dark Knight Is Still The Best Comic-Book Movie Ever

2. The Way The Action Was Filmed

Most modern action scenes have The Bourne Supremacy to thank for the way they're shot. In Supremacy, everything from fisticuffs to car chases was filmed using a variety of fast-cuts and shaky-cam, and the ramifications of this decision can still be felt on the industry today.

But, inherently, it causes many problems for the viewer. The action is all chopped up and incoherent, proving difficult to follow and more difficult to invest yourself in. It's a cheap way to shoot action, and that's why many studios opt to include it - but it doesn't help engage people in a scene or give them any reason to care about the outcome of the fight. We can't tell what's going on!

But action is only important if it bears emotional resonance, and The Dark Knight doesn't lose sight of that. Rather than going with the quick and easy shaky-cam, cinematographer Wally Pfister chose to hold his camera steady on each shot, for two or three seconds - just watch the truck chase or the bank heist for evidence.

This allows us to see the pain, frustration, anger and exhaustion pop up on the characters faces, never losing sight of that emotional connection throughout all the explosions and gunfire. It also made the frenetic action much easier to follow, which helped the film hold the viewer's attention, something that could've been lost had the Bourne method been adopted.