Cesar Romero would have been proud...................

Rating: 7/10 (19 July 2008)

The motorcycle is cool, but it's really the only significant new equipment added. We don't get to see Bruce, or anyone else, tinkering in the night, working to produce or perfect new technological additions. The improved Batsuit is pulled out of a file drawer !? A 60's style wall of T.V. screens is supposed to represent some sort of city-wide sonar tracking technology....or some such gobbledygook....I couldn't buy into it. Gone is the basement of 'Wayne Tower' with its hidden stockpile of technical goodies near-ready for Bruce/Batman to incorporate into his battle against evildoers. Gone is the Batcave since the Wayne mansion is under re-construction (?)......with all his billions you'd think Bruce Wayne would have hired people who could get the job done WITHIN THREE YEARS! I wondered if the construction crew will have to clean up all that guano in the cave prior to occupancy. We don't get to see the construction site.....that might have been nice as a contribution to continuity from the first movie. I missed those kinds of detail aspects.
This is a darker, more foreboding version, and the story line is more in keeping with the way the comic book character has evolved over the decades. There's no doubt that Heath Ledger produces the best Joker portrayal to date, but it certainly is not an Oscar-worthy performance. Other characters are consistent with what you know about them from 'Batman Begins'. Not enough Morgan Freeman, though, and 'Alfred' has evolved into a sort of Zen guide for Bruce Wayne. His few appearances are punctuated by allegorical far eastern life lesson statements. The Harvey Dent/ Two-face character felt like an extraneous addition, although I think that I was probably supposed to feel as though he was central to the plot development.......somehow, I didn't........ Maggie Gyllenthall(?) looks homely, seems miscast in her role and turns in a forgettable performance.
I noticed that the reviews of this film, at this venue, are almost ALL highly favorable, and that these favorable reviews come attached with a high level of 'useful' designations from the readers; the bad reviews mostly have 'not useful' attached to them. This tells me that no matter what is said about this movie, people will want to go out and see for themselves. Certainly, it's decent entertainment but it does NOT deserve a 9.7 rating.
Personally, I found it somewhat enjoyable, although not as much as 'Batman Begins'. Perhaps it was the 'newness' of the previous film where we get to see the background behind Bruce Wayne's evolution as Batman, overlapped along parallel lines with the integration of supporting characters, places and equipment. In this most recent installment we have all that already in place.
Anyhow, it was pretty good, and you'll all go to see it regardless of what I or anyone else has to say about it....... I rate it 6 ...........