Truly great, but not without flaws

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2008)

Before seeing the movie, I was ridiculously excited about it. I was hoping my expectations would be met... and in most respects, they were. It's a very enjoyable, well-done movie. But there are things I think need to be different in order for the movie to be perfect.
Comparatively, Batman Begins feels like a more well thought out movie than The Dark Knight. It had a much more focused point to it. The story was more personal and felt more real, I guess you could say. The Dark Knight almost takes on too much.
Action is awesome. The visuals are amazing. Acting is top-notch. The actual production value of this movie is something to be in awe of. The only problems it has are the fault of the script. I think maybe it should have gone through another draft or two.
But, that being said, it's definitely a very good movie. Heath Ledger's performance is as great as we all knew it would be since the moment we first saw the trailers.
*SPOILERS*
My biggest beef with the movie is the fact that there wasn't a huge showdown between Batman and the Joker like it looked like there would be in the trailer. The first theatrical trailer ended with the Joker in the street saying "Hit me!", and then the big low angle shot of Batman sliding past him on the Bat-Pod. I thought this would be the climax. Batman and Joker were gonna have a huge epic showdown in the streets of Gotham. It didn't turn out this way. Those shots were actually part of a scene that comes about mid- way through the movie, and is actually over quite quickly after that. The climax that DOES happen between Batman and Joker is considerably smaller on the edge of a building, and there isn't really anything all that "showdown"-y about it. Perhaps they were saving the showdown for another movie... too bad they didn't know this was the only film they'd get with Ledger as the Joker.
But that bit of disappointment is nothing more than just my misguided expectations, and I can't really blame the film for that.
*END SPOILERS*
So... all in all, I very much like the film. I don't quite love it like I thought I would... yet. Perhaps repeat viewing will get me more comfortable with the movie, and I'll love it. As of this moment, I'm still a little uncomfortable with it.