Too Long, Too Little in Spite of Heath Ledger's Brilliant Performance

Rating: 4/10 (3 August 2008)

Unfortunately, this is a movie that just didn't know where to go most of the time. We have an almost three hour movie that really feels longer and doesn't know where to go and when to stop.
First of all, let's talk about Heath Ledger's performance. The hype is absolutely justified. He lights up the screen with his performance and the film is delightful when he is on the screen. Part of the problem is that no other characters are equally as interesting and that includes Christian Bale as Batman. There is not all that much charisma in Christian Bale's characterization as Bruce Wayne and none of the other characters grab the screen the way Heath Ledger does, so the movie doesn't really give Heath Ledger much to play off of most of the time. Eric Roberts, almost unrecognizable probably due to the work that has been done on his face, has some acting moments in a minor role that cause a stir. I always liked him and wish I saw more of him.
Meanwhile, the film has so many twists and turns that do nothing more than confuse, I felt more like I was in a maze that I couldn't get out of rather than on a roller coaster ride. Just when I thought there might be a resolution to the film, yet another plot twist, a new discovery would occur. I found myself looking at my watch after about an hour and a half or so, and the movie was only half over! The first part of the film, that is to say, the first hour, was more character setup and that was far more interesting. The first part of the film relied more on dialogue and there was quite a bit of evident wit. But when the plot points started getting laid on thick and heavy, I got restless and continued to get more so. At film's end, I ended up thinking "So what?". I was glad to have seen Heath Ledger's performance, but not much more than that. I felt, other than for Ledger, the film wasted my time (and money).