The Dark Knight ascends

In the first review from the dozen top critics (the handful who really matter), Time’s Richard Corliss gives The Dark Knight a perfect 100 score on Metacritic.

It’s been one of the best summers in memory for flat-out blockbuster entertainment, and in the wow category, the Nolan film doesn’t disappoint. True to format, it has a crusading hero, a sneering villain in Heath Ledger’s Joker, spectacular chases ‚Äî including one with Batman on a stripped-down Batmobile that becomes a motorcycle with monster-truck wheels ‚Äî and lots of stuff blowing up. Even the tie-in action figures with Reese’s Pieces suggest this is a fast-food movie.

But Nolan has a more subversive agenda. He wants viewers to stick their hands down the rat hole of evil and see if they get bitten. With little humor to break the tension, The Dark Knight is beyond dark. It’s as black ‚Äî and teeming and toxic ‚Äî as the mind of the Joker. Batman Begins, the 2005 film that launched Nolan’s series, was a mere five-finger exercise. This is the full symphony.

I’ll climb through this very narrow window of opportunity to point out that The Dark Knight now teeters atop the ledge of a lofty tower, overlooking the seething city below him, from the highest peak of a 97 score on Metacritic. (With only 4 major reviews so far.) Enjoy the brief sensation of being the best reviewed film of the year… before we leap into the void. WALL¬∑E stands at 94. Iron Man at 79.¬† Where do you think The Dark Knight will ultimately alight?