Great fun, but woefully overrated

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2008)

I'm going to make this short, since all the praise has been heaped and the naysayers have also had their say. 'The Dark Knight' was fun, but good lord, folks...#1 of all time? Better than 'The Godfather?' More amazing than 'Star Wars'? Gimme a break.
Heath Ledger earns his props. A wonderful interpretation. But really, if the poor guy hadn't died would his performance be arousing all this adulation? Batman, Two-Face...great fun, but right out of the comics, both emotionally and believably. As it should be. I didn't mind that poor Harvey is laying in bed with half his face burned off and is otherwise okay; it's a comic book. But I imagine that Bale & Eckhart are kinda scratching their heads over this one...they've both been better in more emotionally resonant movies.
A bit long, a bit obvious (the creepy, white 'everyman' and the noble black criminal in the final act). A great time at the movies, yes, but this isn't 'Sunset Boulevard', it isn't "the Godfather, I or II. It isn't even the best superhero movie...I'd have to give that one to 'X-Men II' or 'Spidey II'. It isn't even the best Christopher Nolan film; 'The Prestige' gets better with every viewing; I don't know if the three hour 'Batman' is going rate a second look.
Widen your horizons...rent a few of the 'Top 250' that you haven't seen, especially the vintage ones, and see if there's something more to cinema than you expect.