Frankly, I can't imagine how anything could spoil this tripe any further

Rating: 1/10 (1 November 2008)

I went to see this godawful turkey because the reviews were good and I thought maybe there was something there worth seeing, but, alas, my instincts were correct: it was made to be delivered to the Faithful, who prefer their characters flattened out and wrapped in plastic against a blue screen, delivering the usual predictable, crappy comic-book dialogue. There goes another five or six hours I'll never get back. One of the worst aspects of this movie experience was the ever-present, omnipresent, ubiquitous, portentous, ominous and and and redundant symphonic music! Every single second of screen time is infused with impending dread....! Christian Bale stares longingly into Maggie Gyllenhall's eyes; tremulous, haunting minor chords. Christian Bale glances away at the darkened spires of Gotham; slow crescendo on B flat. Etcetera. I guess this film was just marketed too effectively; I was convinced, and went.
The first Batman film starred Michael Keaton as Wayne, which was an inspired casting choice, much like casting Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man: it would be impossible, I think, for either Downey or Keaton to yield up a flat performance. In this case, though, Christian Bale's performance (primarily grim determination) has been flattened out to match the furniture, leaving only Heath Ledger and, of course, Michael Caine, still standing as convincing characters.
Is that enough to make the film worth watching? It's up to you, but (A) I knew it was the last I would see of Ledger, and(B) the script for Michael Caine just isn't THAT good. On balance, I can't recommend it.