I feel the movie franchise started with Batman Begins. Nolan is a storyteller, and a very good one at that. Every one of his movies is totally engaging.
Saw it tonight too, and it was just great! I thought the Heath Ledger hype was just a construct brought on by his death, but he was amazing! All others were just pale compared to him. I think I also won some points for spotting it was Chicago long before they showed Navy Pier...