The car is the star

Rating: 7/10 (1 September 2008)

I used to think that what Batman really needed was a racy chick. He must go green with envy every time he runs (or flies) into James Bond at a party. With the exception of Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy, Batman's female sidekicks form a long line of partly classy, but notoriously boring blondes: Kim Basinger, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nicole Kidman, Alicia Silverstone. Katie Holmes and Maggie Gyllenhaal may be minor improvements, but Bondgirls of the Andress-Auger-Bisset-Bach-Ekland-Janssen-Hatcher-Marceau-Richards variety are obviously entirely out of the Bat's reach. Maybe it's the suit. He may want to trade his Batgear for Brioni. Anyway, I used to think that what Batman really needed was a racy chick. Now I'm not so sure. With a car like that? He may not need other people anymore, at all. Small surprise Robin's part is past and gone. Other than the Batmobile, there are two stars in this movie. One is Eric Roberts, fashionably fattened and so tan it must hurt, in the part of smug mafia sleaze-ball Sally Maroni. The other is Heath Ledger as the Joker. It's a grateful part, but he does it justice. I must confess all the pre-release praise annoyed me, so I tried hard to not like his performance, but to no avail. He really is that good. My favorite scene is the one in which there seems to be something wrong with his remote as he tries to blow up Gotham General Hospital.