The Dark Knight: Excellence in movie titling

I applaud Warner Brother's ability to think outside the box in titling the sequel to Batman Begins as The Dark Knight. This is the first Batman movie title to not have "Batman" in it. You could imagine a sense of unease among movie execs that not everyone out there would get that we're still talking about Batman, so it must have taken some convincing to go with the less recognizable title.

Like it matters, really; All the movie houses still put "Batman" up on the marquee : )

Still, it is something to be applauded. The Dark Knight has long been Batman's moniker. Frank Miller used it in 1986 to pen the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. Not only is it an appropriate title from that standpoint, but the entire plot seems to have been written around the possible title. There's several themes in the movie involving "Dark Knight"...

(Minor spoilers)

• The night is darkest before the dawn. We're told that Batman has all but cleaned up the streets and made Gotham a safer city, ushering in the dawn of a new era of order in the city. With the introduction of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman may even be no longer necessary to ensure the crime-free order sticks. Then... Joker comes on the scene and all hell breaks loose. The night is darkest before the dawn.
• What makes a white knight and what makes a dark knight? Harvey Dent is characterized as Gotham's "white knight", a man who can fight for the city and its people without wearing a mask. Incorruptible. Batman is, of course, presupposed to be the "dark knight", a vigilante and morally deficit defender of the city.
• Who is which? Is Harvey Dent as squeaky clean as he should be to be considered Gotham's "white knight"? Is Batman as dark and morally deficit as he could be? Who exactly is Gotham's White Knight, who is the incorruptible defender of the city? I won't spoil it for you, but its definitely NOT the Joker.

The entire movie centers around these themes. It's the perfect title. Good on them for sticking with it over pandering titles like Batman: The Dark Knight or some other intelligence-insulting title that I'm sure was suggested.