Very good

Rating: 9/10 (16 July 2008)

I was looking forward to this, I'm a fan of comic book movies and I like when they delve into the psyche of the hero, aka Spiderman 2 and Batman Begins, and this didn't disappoint. I actually had trouble remembering this was a comic book movie. It gets very in-depth and doesn't pull any punches. Action, storyline, effects, mood, everything is very well done, and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time, waiting to see what's gonna happen next. Normally I have trouble sitting through a film that's more than 2 hours long but I was sorry when this finished.
I've been a fan of Heath's since Two Hands and his tragically cut-short development as an actor since then definitely shines through in this. You can tell he put his heart and soul into this and while his death certainly adds to the hype there's no doubt he does amazingly well with a very disturbed Joker. His performance is pretty much flawless and his presence on screen is palpable. The voice, mannerisms and just his general menacing aura definitely hit the mark and will do his memory justice for years to come. It's a pity he won't get the chance to reprise his role but I'm glad he went out on such a high note. Baille is excellent but almost takes a second fiddle in this film, don't get me wrong it's still very much about Batman but the other characters are so developed and well done. Eckhart is great, Caine and Freeman are always good and Maggie Gyllenhaal does her job well. Gary Oldman is one of my favourites, he is one of those actors that can pretty much assimilate into any role and this is no different. I'd say aside from Heath he's the best thing about this film in terms of acting, his naturalness and talent are apparent every time he's on screen.
Hats off to Nolan, he's done a great job (again). After the incredible disappointment of Indiana Jones, I'm happy to say this is the best film I've seen so far this year.