Good but not as Good as Batman Begins, and morally dubious

Rating: 7/10 (26 July 2008)

Right, let's get the bad points out the way first. The film is thirty minutes too long and seems to be trying too hard to be about something, though it isn't quite sure what that something is. Good guys always lose? Being a good guy just isn't enough? Only good guys acting like bad guys can keep the world safe?
There are also some rather dubious moral side issues slipped in here. Batman gives The Joker the "bad cop" treatment, and one wonders if this is intended as a justification of severe interrogation methods. The Joker is clearly depicted as an urban terrorist here, working to make everyone else like him. Ring any bells? Bush is now a footnote in history; his morally repugnant policies of torture, detention without trial, and mass murder of innocent Iraqi's whose only crime was to be ruled by a ruthless dictator will live in infamy for decades to come. This movie seems to stick up for the indefensible. You don't beat the terrorists by becoming them.
The Heat influence is also rather too on the nose; moral complexity is all very well but the film never seems to decide what it's purpose is. The dirtying of the waters here - Gordon admits it's his fault Two Face has lost everything; Batman lets people die or take the rap to preserve his identity; this murkiness is all very well but makes things rather confusing instead of "deep".
After all Batman is supposed to be a hero - sure he has a dark side, but he masters his anger and fear and does the right thing. Except in this film, where for no very good reason he winds up as a fugitive at the film's climax. Is one person really so important to the future of Gotham?
However the film is still very good for all that, superbly acted, directed and with excellent set pieces. Heath Ledger really is superb as The Joker, here presented as a Bin Laden type ("some people just wanna see the world burn") and the regular cast, Bale, Caine, Oldman and Freeman have plenty of chances to shine, Eckhart is also very good as Harvey Dent. I came out of the movie having enjoyed it, realising there was nothing in it to inspire kids into thinking that Batman is much of a hero, and believing the Two Face Stuff rather fumbled - he deserves a film all of his own. To summarise - you'll get your monies worth, but it isn't up to Christopher Nolan's first Batman Opus.