You could hear a pin drop in the audience ... and it was packed.

Rating: Null/10 (24 July 2008)

The first thing I want to say is that this movie is lengthy, so after you see it, you will probably forget how many things actually transpired in it. However, if you see various clips afterward, it's easy to get a deeper appreciation of how much effort was put into the film.
One thing I won't soon forget is how I had to buy my ticket a day in advance for an IMAX showing. It was almost a full week after it opened - and it was a weekday during work hours ... and the show was still sold out. When the movie started, there were several generations of moviegoers in the audience and everyone was dead-quiet silent and focused on the movie - including me.
THE MOVIE: Even though I wouldn't call it "perfect" (you can find things to squabble with), overall it was great.
The strengths are the story, characters, visuals and special effects. The basic setup is that a new criminal surfaces in Gotham City. He is a menace not only to the local authorities, but also to the well-established mob families operating in city. Eventually, he cracks a deal with the mob to get rid of Batman ... but this is only the beginning of this incredible story.
One best things about the movie is that is has time to develop a complex storyline and intense characters. It's an hour longer than most movies (2 1/2 vs. 1 1/2 hours) and as a result, a lot of things happen (with well-done twists) and you really get a well-rounded, sophisticated story. In fact, one of the best things about the movie are the thought-provoking ideas that it leaves you with.
The characters and performances are also really well done across the board. However, Heath Ledger's (the Joker) performance was mesmerizing. His character wasn't ridiculous (as most comic book enemies are), but fascinating, believable and ever-so engrossing. Even though Christian Bale had the title role, his performance couldn't quite eclipse Ledger's.
The visuals in the movie were spectacular. The city of Gotham was finally made to like a real major city and the wide-angle cityscape shots were beautifully done. The scenes with Batman on top of high skyscrapers and the inner city details were also great. But again, Ledger was stunning in the role: the scenes of the hunched Joker walking through the streets at night, or of him with his upper torso crazily flailing outside of the policecar window are powerful.
And special effects ... well, aside from the cool 'Bat' vehicles and extremely well-constructed explosions, some of the best effects are unexpected ones - such as some the jumps Batman does and unexpected ways he crafts his escapes (I won't spoil any of those).
In short - don't miss this. See it in a theater and see it before you start hearing/seeing too much about it in the media or from others. This is one of the best values you will ever get for price of a movie ticket.