20 Greatest Direct Sequels Ever Made

3. The Dark Knight

Back To The Future II
Warner Bros.

Quite simply the greatest comic book movie ever made, The Dark Knight took the grounded and mature approach that Christopher Nolan had brought to Batman Begins and dialed it up to ten. Complex, intelligent and brilliantly acted, the movie is an epic crime story wrapped up in the trappings of a superhero blockbuster.

Although Heath Ledger (rightfully) took most of the plaudits for his searing turn as the Joker, the cast are uniformly excellent across the board and help elevate the material and give depth to the characters. The focus on practical effects adds real weight and higher stakes to the action, and everything from the production design to the cinematography works in complete sync to create a perfect storm of technical excellence, with the end result being both a comic book and Batman movie that may never be bettered.

Contributor

I don't do social media, so like or follow me in person but please maintain a safe distance or the authorities will be notified. Don't snap me though, I'll probably break. I was once labelled a misogynist on this very site in a twenty paragraph-long rant for daring to speak ill of the Twilight franchise. I stand by what I said, it's crap.