Originally, I didn’t have very high hopes for the movie, since it seemed like they relied too heavily upon the viral-type marketing and the hype around Ledger’s Joker.
But Batman has always been my favorite superhero, so when I got the chance, I ran out to the new Imax and saw the movie, and honestly it blew me away. Every character was done well (Racheal was pretty boring, but whatever) and the story was great.
I would have enjoyed the movie twice as much if I hadn’t developed the powerful need to piss a little less than halfway through, and subsequently had to hold it for an hour and a half. The Joker was an awesome character, truly frightening and dangerous.
Bale did a great job as the conflicted Batman, and the sacrifice he made at the end fit perfectly with what I think the “canonized” Batman would have done in that moment, as it wasn’t entirely necessary, but he would take the responsibility, feeling guilty for the death of Dent.
Him taking responsibility for the other deaths would also serve to make him that much scarier to the criminals, while lessening the chance of others emulating him, further protecting the civilians.
Perfect all the way around, and a great way to set up the sort of “Batman vs. EVERYONE” storyline that is sure to figure prominently in the future versions.
Altogether, I’d have to say this was easily the best Batman film to date, and probably the best movie I’ve seen this year. The only real drag was some of the implements - the Batpod was a turnoff for me, and the thing where all cellphones were turned into sonar cameras was just plain ridiculous, and very “deus ex machina”-y for my taste.
Other than that, I really loved everything about the film.