20 Most Rewatchable Movies Of The 2000s

The noughties were a pivotal and formative time for Christopher Nolan, as his small, cerebral films grew in scope, he garnered ever more attention, and Warner began trusting him with nine-figure budgets. And his last film of the decade is still his best to date.

The Dark Knight is the second in Nolan’s Batman trilogy and, shorn of the origin story and worldbuilding required for the first instalment, Batman Begins, it gets to let its greasy green hair down and have some fun. Christian Bale’s Batman comes up against Heath Ledger’s Joker in a monumental ideological clash, as the guy in black seeks to retain order and justice, while his clownish opposite sows the seeds of anarchy and chaos. The streets are lit with gunfire, buildings are blown to hell, good and bad men alike are slaughtered, and time after time Batman and the people of Gotham are called upon to make impossible decisions.

No matter that it's the middle movie of a trilogy, or that it boasts an arse-shimmying two-and-a-half-hour runtime, The Dark Knight is one of the easiest films to stick on. It works perfectly as a standalone effort, requiring no prior introduction to the series, and leaving an open ending that is thematically satisfying and doesn't necessitate watching the third entry. It’s Heat with capes, with a smorgasbord of nail-biting scenes and action set-pieces, and it’s an acting masterclass from the literally unrecognisable Ledger, whose nuanced and wildly entertaining performance never gets old.