Fairly good movie. 7 out of 10.

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2008)

First off, this is a fairly good movie. I'm not going to say it's the best of 2008 by any means, as I can think of many others that are better, but it is a good movie. Most of the performances were great and the action was good. The problem I had with it was the length and the dark theme. My understanding however is that it's closer to the original theme of the comics, so I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be, but personally I don't care for that.
Speaking of the dark theme... if you have kids, this is probably not a movie you'd want them to see. It's a bit graphic and the whole beating up the dogs thing was a serious turn off. Not to mention Two Face's faceless side. It was just a bit much.
One thing I have to say is something that is a bit touchy. Prior to seeing this movie, I had read the reviews of how "amazing" Heath Ledger's performance was and I thought to myself that this was an insult to him. I mean everyone only begins to rave about his performance only after he dies and not before. I felt that they were only saying it because he did in fact die.
I'm happy to say that I was very wrong and believe me, I wouldn't say this if I didn't feel this way. Personally I think Heath was obviously not the least bit intelligent for dying the way he did. It's unfortunate that stupidity caused his death, as so many before him. I cannot possibly admire anyone like that and they never learn, do they? In any case, Ledger's performance was indeed amazing. He owned the movie and it's a shame that we'll not see him reprise the role. Oh well, life is hard and it's too bad some don't know how to keep it.
I do have another gripe too. I understand that in order to make things realistic, they have to make Wayne's voice disguised, but does Bale have to sound like he's gritting his teeth when he's speaking every single time Batman opens his mouth? Surely there was a better way of disguising his voice.
Finally, as I mentioned above the movie was just way too long. I found myself wishing that it would simply end, only to be disappointed that it was still going on like the Energizer Bunny.
Aside from those things, it was an okay movie. I can only give it a 7 out of 10, but I'm not a big super hero fan so that's probably why. My husband thinks it's a 10 so he should probably be writing a review. He says it's very true to the comics and is a great depiction. I'll just have to trust his word on that.