Is it really one of the top 10?

Rating: 7/10 (5 April 2009)

There seems to be a lot of hype about this film. As I write it's sitting at #6 with an average rating of 9.0. Honestly, I don't think it's that good. Heath Ledger is fun as the psychopathic side of the joker, but I'm not sure he's any more enjoyable than Jack Nicholson - where, for instance, are the actual jokes? Michael Caine just is NOT Alfred - butlers should speak much more correctly than that, and the cockney boy just doesn't work for me. Christian Bale doesn't seem solid enough as a Bruce Wayne. It's a bit more jolly than the Tim Burton efforts - there is at least daylight this time - and the plot twists and effects are decent, but I don't think they're particularly ground-breaking. All in all I'd say it's watchable, but I don't expect it to hang around in the top 10 for too long.