Not as great as Batman Begins, but still great....

Rating: 10/10 (23 January 2009)

This review has been swirling in my mind for ages, I watched it at the Cinemas and didn't know quite what to make of it...I was a big comic book fan, a great lover of Batman Begins, so when the trailer arrived I was in awe of Heath Ledger as the Joker and impressed by Christian's development of the Batman.....
Gotham City is in turmoil as the events of Batman Begins have thrown everything into chaos, people are dressing up as Batman and fighting crime with guns, while some of Arkham's inmates are still on the loose, and the leading criminals in the City are terrified of the thing that lurks in the shadows. Until a man arrives who doesn't seem to be afraid of the Batman, a man who dresses up as a clown...a man who calls himself the, Joker.
Joker unleashes hell on Gotham City torturing and killing people, blowing up buildings all in the hope of catching Batmans attention and he does, as well as Harvey Dent's, the new DA.
I felt that there was too much hype building up towards this film and there were so many non-fans suddenly jumping on the band-waggon that it made it hard to distinguish if this film was truly great....
Heath Ledger's portrayal was truly magnificent, he went out as a great Hollywood actor, he portrays a man truly lost to madness, a man who wants to understand why Gotham celebrates another maniac? While Aaron Eckhart plays a satisfactory Harvey Dent, he is a man who is truly trying to change things. Gary Oldman is as fine as the first, Michael Caine takes a backseat in this film but hopefully he will return in the third with a bigger part. Morgan Freeman becomes a more pivotal place within Batman's side, and does justice toward the end. Maggie Gylenhaal was okay...I felt the role needed Katie Holmes.... And finally Erice Roberts as Sal Maroni, Eric did a tremendous job playing the mobster; he oozes with charm out of every pore...
And finally I come to Christian Bale. Bale takes his character to a new level, his Bruce Wayne, is broken up into two people, the brooding 'Wayne' who spends his days stitching himself back up, and staring into space with the pain he constantly feels and the Bachelor 'Bruce', a man totally ignorant of the things that are happening around him...
This Batman is much more violent then the last, he's had enough and will throw you off a building if he has to...A creature that is losing the fear that he instilled in the hearts of his victims to the popularity.....
And finally Christopher Nolan, Nolan focuses on the action a little more and create breathtaking sequences like the Bat-pod chase, the truck flip, Batman standing on top of a huge building and then leaping off... Nolan shows Gotham in a more brighter role, as the City gleams with happiness, almost happy at what has happened in the previous film.....I leaped out of my seat towards the end when Batman takes on the SWAT team and the criminals in order to save the innocent, absolutely beautifully choreographed.
All in all, a great sequel...but hopefully will return to the roots in the third...