"The Dark Knight" is as dark as night.

From the specter of rancid Gotham City's gloomy landscape to the blowtorch viciousness of the demented Joker (a magnificent Heath Ledger), director Christopher Nolan's Batman tale of good versus evil seldom leaves the gutter of human emotions.

What's amazing is the lure to jump in and wallow in this down-and-dirty cinematic excursion.

There's not a laugh along the way — maybe a chuckle or two — and the violence is unnerving. It's rated PG-13, but a youngster gets a pistol pointed at his head and is tossed off a building.

That said, "The Dark Knight" is a summer superhero picture for adults, with powerful moralistic themes of duty and friendship, personal rights and revenge. This despite the product tie-ins for children — everything from the Hot Wheels Batmobile and Batman stunt figures in boxes of Cheerios to Domino's Gotham City pizza and Reese's dark peanut butter bats.

The filmmaking is state-of-the-art, utilizing IMAX technology. When Batman (the stoic Christian Bale) perches on the top ledge of a skyscraper and then sails off into the atmosphere, your heart leaps along with him.

There's also a villain for the ages. Ledger, who died in January at the age of 28, creates in the Joker a scary, cockeyed demeanor far deeper and more disturbing than the cartoon psycho of Jack Nicholson in 1989's "Batman." His visage is a raucous nightmare — black eye shadow, red lipstick, white pancake makeup, stringy hair, tongue darting like a cobra's, face pocked by gashes inflicted by a tortuous father.

What makes him so appalling is his nature — inflicting punishment without conscience. He kills because it feels good. "I'm an agent of chaos," he blurts. There's a visceral shudder as Ledger's maniac explains the origin of those ugly facial scars. This Joker is no joke.

From the film's first moments — a tense, frightening, high-body-count bank robbery — "The Dark Knight" gallops for 2 1/2 action-engorged hours. It's fast, furious and fascinating.

Bale, a powerful and provocative presence, recreates his dual role from 2005's "Batman Begins" as playboy Bruce Wayne and crime fighter Batman. In one scene, he arrives at a fundraising party for the virtuous district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) with a coterie of supermodel-types, kind of like Hugh Hefner might. The man knows a good time.

He's also facing a crisis of confidence, wondering just why he needs to maintain his Batman role in a city that doesn't champion his special talents. Meanwhile, there are a series of chases — the Batmobile becomes a Batmotorcycle — and brawls. They're filmed like punches to the gut; they take your breath away. The director of photography is Wally Pfister, who shot Nolan's memorable "Memento" and "Batman Begins."

Back again is classy Gary Oldman as police Lt. James Gordon, a Batman ally, who sets meetings on rooftops and in dark alleys and tells him, "The Joker has no rules; you have rules."

There's also Michael Caine, 75, as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's trusty manservant, who has the kind of disheveled look of someone who doesn't quite get all the hairs on his face when he shaves. Morgan Freeman, 71, in a selection of bow ties, is resplendent as Lucius Fox, the man responsible for the Batman gadgets. Cool one: a pocket drill that burrows through concrete.

Eckhart doesn't quite make a dent as Harvey Dent, who suddenly finds himself in a ghastly, two-faced predicament. There was something deeper to be found there than bellowing, "You thought we could be decent men in an indecent world." Eckhart misses it.

And Maggie Gyllenhaal as attorney Rachel Dawes (replacing languid Katie Holmes from "Batman Begins") doesn't connect emotionally with either Bale or Eckhart, both seeking her affections. The usually fine Gyllenhaal has no heat.

There's high-rise action galore with folks either smashing through windows or crashing out. If you're leery of heights, pre-medication might be in order.

In the end, it's Ledger's chilling Joker that sticks in memory. "I'm not a monster," he says. "I'm just ahead of the curve."

"The Dark Knight" is ahead of the curve, dense and demanding, an art film on a grand scale. It won't make you smile, but it will make you ponder this mesmerizing experience.

"The Dark Knight." Rated: PG-13. Running time: 2 hours, 32 minutes. 3 1/2 stars.

To find out more about Lee Grant and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.