Post-2000 cinema will be remembered in part as the age of the comic book blockbuster - with the Marvel Cinematic Universe frequently cleaning up at the box office and DC's own franchises faring well, comic book adaptations have come to form a huge chunk of Hollywood's earnings. Arguably the apotheosis of this movie making trend, The Dark Knight is already widely considered to be as close to perfect as movies can get when it comes to capturing the spirit of its comic book source. Heath Ledger's death elevated the movie to the stuff of legends, but even if he hadn't died there remains little doubt that The Dark Knight wouldn't be remembered as a redefining moment in comic book movie history and a thoroughly entertaining, incredibly produced film in its own right.
