A Movie for Superhero Fan Wannabes and Sheep

Rating: 3/10 (5 September 2008)

Bleh. I thought 'Batman Begins' was all right. Not particularly good, but a nice way to waste a few hours. This one just outright sucks. After being hyped to death (pun not intended) between everything such as Heath Ledger's death and whatnot, I begrudgingly went to see this film. What a mess.
Heath Ledger was a good actor. He did good with what he had. Unfortunately, he didn't have much here. The Joker looks absolutely horrible. The premise of creating a "realistic" superhero flick is outright idiotic. Superheroes were never made to be realistic. They were created for young comic book readers to escape the hardships of the real world and delve into a world of fantasy and mystique. Removing that fantasy and mystique turns it into a soap opera with masks. Basically, all we've got here are politically-fueled undertones. Yadda, yadda, yadda, Joker is represented as the terrorist threat to America, throw in some scenes of the destruction looking like 9/11 and have Batman confiscate the security of the people like President Bush and his Patriot Act. How juvenile and disgusting.
So, if you life watching Heath Ledger look like a hobo wearing clown make-up, seeing Christian Bale talk like he's faking a cold, hearing Gary Oldman scream with a British accent as an American lieutenant/commissioner, and seeing Aaron Eckhart with a half-CGI head then this is the film for you! Unfortunately, millions have already flocked to it and claimed it is the greatest piece of celluloid to be projected on a screen since the concept of the movie. Shame on them.
Also, Heath Ledger for a posthumous Academy Award for playing the Joker? Give me a break. You'd have better luck of Disaster Movie winning best comedy.