Surpassing all expectations

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2011)

I'll be the first to admit I was very skeptic about this one, because I was very badly disappointed by Batman Begins, but in any standard this was an excellent movie and probably the best superhero movie since 1989's Batman at least.
The Dark Knight maintains the elements I liked about Batman Begins - the dark grittiness, the realism and the maturity - but has more of what it was lacking in - good pacing, strong action scenes and strong villain characters. Ledger and Eckhart are both brilliant, and more than make up for what I feel is a mediocre Bruce Wayne at most. It's a bit too long and tries to stuff too much storyline into one movie, which is why I can't give it a full 5 stars. Other than that - excellent. Really surpassed my expectations.