The Dark Knight (12a)

IN 2005, Christopher Nolan’s complex, fascinating Batman Begins breathed new life into DC Comics’ masked superhero, offering two parts introspection and myth-making to each dose of frenetic action.

An explosion-heavy final third ended on the promise of a sequel, and here it is, with Batman (Christian Bale) facing off against face-painted adversary The Joker, played with grim relish by Heath Ledger.

Also along for the ride are whiter-than-white District Attorney Aaron Eckhart, who’s dating Batman’s old flame Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhall), and a gallery of familiar faces from the first film, headed by Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Dispensing with the villain’s backstory in favour of non-stop thrills, Nolan begins The Dark Knight with a bank robbery and throws in car chases, kidnappings and boats stuffed with bombs, delivering a furiously-paced actioner that’s loaded with twists.

But while it’s exciting, persuasive popcorn fodder, the film’s philosophical musings are less intriguing and sure-footed than first time around, while the dreamlike imagery that gave Batman Begins much of its slow-building power is conspicuously absent.

It’s difficult to quibble with two-and-a-half hours of solid entertainment, especially when Bale and Ledger are so very good, but this feels like a missed opportunity, especially when the film resorts to waving guns at children in order to engage its audience.

Showing daily from today, Friday except where noted

Harrogate Odeon

Tel 0871 2244007

NEW! PREVIEW

Showing Wed-Thurs only at 11.10am

Get Smart (12a)

New adaptation of Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's 1960s spy parody TV show Get Smart which hevaily borrowed from James Bond. The one starring Steve ‘The Office’ Carell as secret agent Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 borrows heavily from James Bond. A big hit in the USA, among the others joining in the fun are Alan Arkin, Dwayne Johnson, Terence Stamp and, briefly, Bill Murray.

NEW!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (12a)

Showing Wed-Thurs only at 6pm

wheelchair access

Pan's Labyrinth director Guillermo del Toro’s visually-stunning sequel stars Ron Perlman once again as the red-faced demon who’s actually a good guy, Selma Blair as the love interest and John Hurt as his dad in this action-packed comic book adaptation which has an unusually romantic nature and an environmental heart.

NEW!

You Don’t Mess With The Zohan (12a)

Showing daily

Adam Sandler co-wrote the script for his latest comedy in which he plays an Israeli counter-terrorism commando who fakes his own death in order to pursue his dream of becoming a hairstylist in New York. (You couldn’t make this sort of thing up).