Terrific

Rating: 9/10 (12 December 2008)

The police and the Dark Knight (Bale) believe they have the crime situation under control in Gotham. Then along comes the Joker (Ledger).
I must say I am surprised and pleased that the story was not all about the villain, the Joker. It was a good mix between Batman and the Joker, and all the cast performed extremely well. Yes, there are a couple loose ends that were not tied up. The young accountant who knows the secret identity of Batman . What happened to him? And, whatever happened to the Joker? We didn't see him die (What? Sequels? Ah!)
There is a picky point. How do you not know there are drums of oil in the engine room of both ferry boats? How do you not know this as a member of the boat working in the engine room? This seemed to me to be the dumbest part of the story.
All was good: the cinematography, CGI, real stunts, dialogue and the music. I have heard that the music will be nominated for an Oscar. It was okay but I wouldn't go that far.
It wouldn't bother me if Heath Ledger posthumously wins an Oscar for his Joker. He was very good. But, so too was the make-up artist who painted Ledger's face. It was simple but most effective because it was scary. Did Caesar Romero ever look as scary as the Joker in the TV series? What about Jack when he played the part? I think not.
The movie is too long. At times it felt like a weekly serial the times the Joker was allowed to escape, except it wasn't weekly, it was 2.5-hours in real time. Still good, but long. At least the CGI and regular stunts didn't last forever like they sometimes do in action movies. And, they were very good too.
I have to go back and watch Batman Begins to see if Bale uses the throaty voice to disguise his Bruce Wayne voice as he did here. I don't remember that.
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.