Good, but suffers from some typical super hero movie problems

Rating: 7/10 (8 August 2008)

I wanted to like this more. There are actually three basic problems that I see with the film. First of all, although Joker is the best villain in Batman, and one of the best villains in all super hero sagas, there is one big problem that in my view hasn't been satisfactorily met in neither of the two movies involving Joker (the Burton film from 1989 being the other of course). It's the lack of credibility in terms of the loyalty of the small crooks! Joker is striving for anarchy and how he aims for this and manages to partially succeed is fascinating. However Joker's henchmen should be after money, and if their boss keeps killing people randomly and destroying monetary assets, that should make them scared in a way which doesn't support any loyalty towards Joker - quite the opposite.
The second problem with this movie is the lack of credibility in the creation of chaos. Based on some reviews I was expecting a very emotional and authentic feel to it, but in the end some of the consequences of Joker's actions felt both forced and superficial.
The third problem is very typical not only for super hero movies but for many other modern action movies too. There is just too much fast-paced action to maintain the tension!
I know this is a super hero movie, so the viewer is expected to give in to some unrealistic aspects and also expect some action. However I'd prefer this unrealism to be restricted to mainly one or two points: the superhero and maybe the supervillains. And even with these two the aspects related to character development should feel credible. One additional downside was that the pathos in a couple of scenes towards the end of the movie felt artificial.
All in all the movie is still clearly above the average superhero movie in this decade of superheroes being a major trend in the movie industry. If you enjoy the genre in general, seeing this movie is an obvious must.