The book you couldn't put down until it was finished.

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2008)

This movie has some bigger than life aspects too it. Not only do we get stellar performances from the late Heath Ledger and Christian Bale, but the supporting cast all blend together to make this experience tense, dark and sometimes binding in the sense being held captive. If you have ever picked up a 500+ page book and lost sleep and days of work because you couldn't put it down, this is the experience I walked away with.
It is difficult to encapsulate the behavior of someone that is so wrought with such malcontent as Heaths portrayal of the Joker, but suffice it to say throughout the movie, you never get the sense he wants anything in life but to cause anarchy to the world around him. Every story he tells you about how he came to be is different and within short time you have been cornered into not being able to second guess him. Pitting this Joker against the Bat ... well, I'm sorry Jack, you gave Joker a shot but you have been out staged. Bale looks pale in comparison, though it seems he spends a lot of his time thinking in this sequel and by the time he realizes that the Joker just doesn't give a damn about anything, it is almost the end of him. Harvey Dent, portrayed by Aaron Eckhart provides us with a remarkable transformation when he too realizes that he no longer has anything to live for, and in an amazing turn of events his passion for good turns to revenge. All the dots slowly reconnect back to the Joker.
Hot and cold, fast and slow, good and evil, love and hate all seem to have strong influences. This is not, however a symmetrical script: Good only wins out barely in the end. The city is left in ruins. The impression of terrorism has affected every life in Gotham, and the Batman is left to run.
There are moments in the film that allow the audience to breath thankfully as they responded to the puns with a few snorts of laughter. I was impressed that I didn't see any young children attending (but then again I went to a workday matinée). Rated at PG-13, I guess an adolescent would be able to separate their personal hormone-driven angst from the intensity of the movie. However, at nearly 2.5 hours, an adult can take the entire book in one sitting. Once it starts there will be no going to the bathroom, not getting popcorn or candy, you won't be able to put the book down.