Maybe a bit better than the last film, but pretty much a lot of the same thing, to be honest

Rating: 9/10 (16 August 2008)

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
After cleaning up Gotham at the end of the last film, Batman's legacy is now being followed up by the police department of the city, who are tracing the funds of all known criminals so they can freeze their assets and stop them profiteering off their crimes. The only trouble is, the Chinese banker they all use has flown off to Hong Kong and now doesn't have to answer to American law. Batman soon changes this, but he has new problems to face in the shape of The Joker (Heath Ledger) a psychopathic criminal in clown make up who's hoping to wipe all the competition out and take down the police force while he's at it. Meanwhile, in the personal life of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) new problems are faced in the shape of his ex Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) taking up with hot shot DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) who's on his own crusade to wipe out crime in the city. But a devastating chain of events is about to make him come to question his side of morality.
With the greatest respect, it often seems the case that when a famous person dies, the shock, grief, respect or whatever that people want to show can cause them to overlook their work or over praise them, as if greatness can be determined by death. I often wonder if Bruce Lee hadn't died, whether Enter the Dragon would enjoy half the cult status it does over thirty years on or if Princess Diana would be hailed as half the saint she was. In case you've been living on Planet Mars since January, you will know I am of course referring to Heath Ledger. He's certainly been the talk of the film, and it's gained some criticism for using a dead man to gain publicity. I loved Jack Nicholson as The Joker in the 1989 film, and was a little swayed against anyone being as good as he was. But the truth is simply what everyone has been saying, Ledger is just a different Joker, darker and nowhere near as camp. He's not better and not worse than Nicholson, just playing him under a different method.
As for the rest of the cast, Bale maintains his suave, dark, deep Wayne act from the last film and has undeniable presence in the most important role. As Dent, Eckhart is dynamic but over-emphatic and over-bearing. At times this makes his performance quite good, at others a little campy. Veteran actors Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine provide amiable support in side roles.
In the UK, there's been a bit of a furore over the apparent amount of violence in the film for a 12A. I would say ignore this, as I didn't see anything that was worse than the last film and this just seems to be The Daily Mail having something to stir up sh!t about.
Batman has certainly never been darker than under Christopher Nolan, and he continues his blurry, grey vision of the character here. He's not simply trying to tell a story, but also all the back story and tribulations Batman brings with him. This gives the film depth, but maybe it's a bit too much for someone who wants a simple action film. I liked it maybe slightly more than the last film, some good action and impressive performances, but this version of Batman feels a little too over ambitious and overblown for my liking. ****