Well, Nicholson looks a little silly now, doesn't he?: "The Dark Knight"

Really, how does it feel to have a gay cowboy/rock-n-roll knight make your version of a legendary villain look like a cartoon, and not in a good way?

OK, everyone ... before we get into this, let's all just calm down a bit. Take a deep breath. Another. Maybe a Xanax.

I was excited as anyone to see "The Dark Knight." Loved "Batman Begins," loved what I heard about Heath Ledger. Then came the hype and the record crowds, and I couldn't get away from people jabbering about the damn movie. Didn't turn me off, mind you, but it made me think this think better be really, really good or ... well, I'd complain a lot.

And you know, it was pretty good. Probably better than the first one, which is no easy feat. Was it THE BEST MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN (GASP! GASP!)? (It's No. 1 among IMDb users right now.) Nah. But ask me again after another viewing or two, which it definitely deserves. Who knows what could happen?

For those of you living in a cave -- apparently one with a nice Internet connection -- our story opens with the daring robbery of a bank that holds mob money. That same mob has been the focus of our Caped Crusader (Christian Bale), who has done a solid job of hitting the guys where it hurts. At the same time, Gotham's new district attorney, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), and Lt. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) hope to take down the mob legally.

With all this trouble, the bad guys turn to a loony dude in clown makeup (Heath Ledger), who promises to eliminate the do-gooders and bring Batman down with them. Loitering throughout are past Bruce Wayne girlfriend and present Dent girlfriend Rachel (Maggie Gyllllllenhaaaaaaaal; bye-bye, Mrs. Cruise) and Bruce/Batman's helpers, Alfred the butler (Michael Caine) and Lucius the CEO (Morgan Freeman). Does that cover it?

Of course, things aren't so simple, and this storyline is fraught with deep stuff. First, Batman isn't heralded as a hero, but a vigilante. Second, the Joker isn't motivated by the usual bad-guy things. He just wants to raise a ruckus and unleash chaos. It doesn't help that he's pretty sharp. Demented and sad, but sharp. Third, we got the love triangle with Bruce-Rachel-Harvey. Fourth, we got the whole duality of man in Batman vs. Joker. Fifth, we got the duality of man in Batman (The Dark Knight) vs. Dent (The White Knight). Sixth, we got the duality of man in just Dent, who doesn't make it through the movie without problems.

So yeah, there's a lot going on here. Too much? Eh, I guess not. It was a solid two-and-a-half hours, and I might have cut only a few scenes or two. But that's a quibble. Overall, it's an impressive mix of plot and ka-pow, which good action to start, throughout, and at the end. And unlike a lot of the usual comic-book tripe out there, this definitely is grim. You can take your happy endings and stuff them in a sack, Sally!

But you know, that's good. I'm at a point where nice, neat packages really piss me off, and "The Dark Knight" was in no danger of that. Throw in some dazzling stunts and fine acting, and any complaints I could come up with would be picking the tiniest of nits.

In closing, a few words about Mr. Ledger.

First, was that Heath Ledger? Seriously (pun intended), if they had kept his casting confidential, would we ever have recognized him? Credit obviously goes to Chris Nolan for the direction and the script (the latter done with his brother). Still, ultimately a great performance can't happen without the actor, and Ledger's embrace of this role was clear.

I hesitate to use words like "transcendent" and all that, but ... wow. I mean, we knew the guy could act; even before "Brokeback," he impressed me in "Monster's Ball." But yeah, this is something else. I'm not going to touch that crap about whether this drove him over the edge. All I know is that he sank his teeth in and didn't let go, and the result is a truly fascinating character -- all the moreso because he never really learn his backstory. He shows up and takes over, and you're transfixed. Whatever demons he dealt with, Ledger left his mark with this one.