Dark? Sure. Overly serious? Undoubtedly

Rating: 3/10 (24 June 2019)

The production design? Boring. It's just a city. Where's the gothic architecture and personality Anton Furst showed us? Acting? Mediocre. Christian bale is laughable, you can't get past the stupid voice. Ledger is okay but nowhere near as fun to watch as Nicholson. Cinematography? Not memorable. Music? Barely there. It takes a ridiculous concept and tries to make it serious, which ends up laughable. Burton got it right. Setting a dark tone but still in a fantasy world. It doesn't take itself too seriously because it isn't silly. Two guys parading around in Halloween costumes.
The only decent thing in this film is the practical effects, and the half decent directing from an otherwise competent director.