I like the LOTR movies, and enjoy all of that Tolkien mythology and imagery in general. But none of the three parts of the LOTR trilogy on film were anywhere near as taughtly scripted and edited as TDK. Peter Jackson is a director who does "epic" very well, but he is obsessed with breaking tension, and peppering events with a sentimental, humanistic element. TDK is unforgettable because it is completely uncompromising. From the moment that a seemingly dead clown awakes to shove a dagger into his enemy's mouth, you know that anything can happen, and nothing is off limits. It's a massive credit to the Nolans that that sense of anxiety remains until the very last frame.