Its Predecessor was better

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2008)

I know this is almost heresy to the legions of people who have fawned over TDK, but this film was far from perfect.
To begin with, while I didn't mind the violence, I shudder when I think that my friend took his 2 pre-teens to this film and the violent scenes those kids were exposed to. The violence isn't the comic book kind, and in my opinion it's much too graphic for kids. Once again Hollywood succeeds in desensitizing our youth and robbing them of their childhoods.
That being said, Heath Ledger's Joker has to be the best villain ever. He is an urban terrorist--and proud of it! Ledger's Joker commands the screen in every scene he's in. He would be very worthy of an Oscar win.
I've been a fan of Christian Bale since "Empire of the Sun" and "Henry V" and he's undoubtedly the best Batman/Bruce Wayne. However I thought it was just my sometimes poor hearing that I couldn't decipher what Batman was saying sometimes, due to Bale's growling voice. I had read recently that others felt the same, so I know it wasn't just me. Bale sounded like Bob Dylan in a cowl. The supporting cast is excellent as well: Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman (btw where exactly was Anthony Michael Hall?). Everyone was praising Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance, but I think Katie Holmes did a very good job in BB, even though I'm no fan of hers or her husband for that matter.
The plot however, is another thing. One of the opening scenes with the Scarecrow was somewhat confusing, but the "best" was yet to come. The climax about civilians and prisoners on separate ferries, while Batman attempted to locate the Joker using cellphone sonar--was a confusing hodgepodge of special effects that nearly gave me a seizure! In fact, while there are some artful scenes in this film--the "break-in" in Hong Kong and the police procession--the story is muddled and I have to see it again to figure out the money laundering plot etc. "Batman Begins" had a much more coherent narrative and frankly I think it was the better film.
I know many have commented on the running time. However, if a film is truly well-done (i.e Braveheart, The Godfather films), the length of the film is an afterthought. In fact, a great film leaves you wanting more, and this film wasn't one of them.
This film tried for the home run but it really turned out to be a ground-rule double. Make no mistake, I couldn't wait to see this film. Unfortunately, of the summer comic book films, "Iron Man" was much better. While this film will far exceed the box office take of "Batman Begins," the important thing is that there is not necessarily a positive correlation between how much a film makes and its quality.