Doesn't match 'Begins' but it's pretty good.

Rating: Null/10 (19 July 2008)

First of all this is not as good as Batman Begins. I liked the Batman origin story of 'Begins'. The Batman origin had never been shown on film and was very interesting to see. It felt less like a Batman film than a modern action/thriller. That was good as we moved away from the Tim Burton campiness.
But the main reason to see this film is obviously Heather Ledger's performance as The Joker. I don't think he deserves any awards for the role, but for a role in a summer blockbuster it's well-acted and interesting. Ledger takes the best things about Nicholson's Joker and adds his own little elements here and there to make the character even more diabolical.
The story does drag at times but there's enough sequences to keep it interesting.
The addition of Two-Face wasn't necessary in this movie but follows the trend started way back in 1992 with Batman Returns of having two villains for the comic book movie sequel. One only needs to look at Spider-Man 3 to see how this can turn a movie very sour very quickly.
I wouldn't have minded Two-Face so much in the movie had he remained Harvey Dent and Nolan saved Dent for the next Batman movie. Ledger and Bale could have easily held their own in this movie.