My only beef is the direction, though I admit it's hard to follow a comic book without stepping on some clichés

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2014)

For a movie that attempted to follow the comic book without being too fantasy it's was done very well. Nearly all credit goes to Hearh Ledger's performance, Heath was a method actor who found his demise in what he learnt about himself through his characters. There is no way anybody else in the business could have portrayed the Joker and taken it to their grave in such a permanent manner that anyone else in the next 20 years who thinks they're capable of 'pulling it off', that's because Heath Ledger didn't play the Joker. The Joker appeared as himself and Heath's physical form was voodooed into and out-of-mind state as a sort of avatar. Rest his soul.
A few more pluses for the film; The performances by Bale, Eckhart, Oldman and Freeman. The intensity of the drama. The heartbeat within the action. Batman's voice masking technique. It's widely considered overdone and corny but it's exactly appropriate for the cause. Wayne being a widely recognised entrepreneur needs to hide his identity completely.
A few issues I have with the movie are some predict abilities and clichés I've noticed. In saying that, the film was so well executed that, in the cinema, none of that crossed my mind. It's only once the dim-quality home TV system disappoints me that I'm I excited just enough to spot them.
If you're not watching this in a top notch audio visual system (ideal at a cinema) you're missing out on it's true potential.