This is not how Batman should be done!

Rating: 1/10 (5 September 2010)

'The Dark Knight's box-office takings were recently overtaken by those of 'Toy Story 3'. Frankly, I'm not at all surprised. The Disney picture blows this away in terms of sheer entertainment. What Christopher Nolan does not seem to have grasped is the utter absurdity of the main character - 'Batman' is a nut who runs round Gotham City in a rubber suit solving crimes. The 1966 series/movie with Adam West and Burt Ward got him about right - it was played entirely for laughs. 'T.D.K.' takes him very seriously indeed - big mistake. Christian Bale is bland as 'Wayne/Batman', and Heath Ledger's 'Joker' cannot hold a bat-candle compared to Cesar Romero's and Jack Nicholson's earlier portrayals ( had Ledger not been foolish enough to die just before the film opened, I doubt whether anyone would have given it the time of day ). 'T.D.K.' also squanders the talents of the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal ( brilliant in 'Secretary' ). The film as a whole is bleak, ugly and depressing - not my idea of a fun movie at all. I think I'll stick with the excellent Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher quartet of the '80's/90's. No more 'edgy' Batman pictures, okay?