Surrounded by hype and burdened by great expectations, “The Dark Knight” swoops into theaters with a self-assurance that lives up to all of the pre-release hullabaloo.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, it sets a new bar for comic-book movies like “The Godfather” set for gangster movies.

Nolan (“Batman Begins,” “Memento,” “The Prestige”) knows how to put together an intricate movie with complex characters and unexpected plot turns. In the latest installment of the “Batman” franchise, he’s at the top of his form with a budget that allows for a flawless cast and spectacular special effects. Exhilarating cinematically it may be, but it’s not exactly an unconditional joy ride. There are thorny moral issues to be dealt with and troublesome undercurrents that vex the characters.

The only character who doesn’t harbor any self doubts is Heath Ledger’s the Joker because he knows he’s bad to the bone and he wants everyone else to be that way as well.

A villain can help make or break a movie and the late actor certainly helps to make this one. He has a disfigured face, the cause of which he lies about with relish. He covers it up with grotesque grease paint, he walks with a swaggering hunch and he flicks his tongue out like the viper he is. His voice has a slow, mocking cadence and he lives for destruction, both physical and spiritual.

Nolan and his co-writer (brother Jonathan) make obvious comparisons to Middle Eastern terrorists. The Joker can’t be bought or bullied, negotiated or reasoned with. He has no achievable objective except chaos. One of Nolan’s strengths is his propensity to let ideas play out in the mind of the viewer without bringing a meat ax to the party.

The thing the Joker wants to destroy the most is Batman and he wants to do this by extorting the city into forcing Batman to unmask himself. Again, Christian Bale plays Bruce Wayne, Batman’s billionaire alter ego.

Bruce is not a happy man. Rachel Dawes, the love of his life, is an assistant district attorney. Played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rachel is dating her boss and Bruce is jealous. Aaron Eckhart plays Harvey Dent, the crusading district attorney and romantic rival who wants to clean up the corruption in Gotham City.

Meanwhile, Batman is being assailed by the citizenry because his vigilante ways are causing damage and disruption themselves. He’s like Will Smith’s Hancock, only he doesn’t mind wearing the superhero suit. Still, he’s causing a lot of headaches for organized crime and the Joker persuades the mob bosses into hiring him to bring down their major nemesis.

Nolan turns this into a melancholy film noir fantasy epic at just over two-and-a-half hours. There are many expertly staged action sequences that include fights, crashes and explosions. But the movie’s real heft comes from its intelligent writing and good performances.

There are flashes of dry wit but the script gets more guilty chuckles from the Joker’s mordant and subversive observations. Paraphrasing German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he says: “That which does not kill you only makes you stranger.”