20 Movie Sequels That Are Totally Flawless

Christopher Nolan knew exactly what he was going for when he decided to make a movie trilogy about Batman. He wanted to steer clear of the sillier aspects of the comics, and instead tell the vigilante's story with more of a gritty aesthetic, realistic characters, and effective emotional heft.

Batman Begins was good at this, for the most part, but it was with The Dark Knight that Nolan outdid himself and changed the face of the DC superhero movie for years to come. Incredibly bleak and relentlessly action-packed, the sequel pits Batman against the Joker, and turns Gotham City inside out.

Boosted to greatness by Nolan's spotless direction and the searing performances of Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Aaron Eckhart and Michael Caine, The Dark Knight is at once a thrilling superhero flick and a brutal crime-drama with style, violence and twists to spare. To be honest, no superhero film has topped it. It's really that great.