Disappointing follow up to BB

Rating: 6/10 (20 December 2008)

Comic books are simplistic narratives for children and young teens who lack the sophistication and understanding of people to be able to relate easily to adult books. This is a comic book film, so perhaps I have no right to expect much from it. But the Batman franchise has had a history of attempts to transcend the limits of the comic book genre, and some of the past entries have done fairly well, including the director's previous effort. But this one falls well short of Batman Begins. Regardless of genre, all films depend on characters and acting, and there is no excuse for a large budget film like this having poor acting and a hero is just irritating, as Bale is here. The director's inability to use actors effectively has never been clearer. A hero film like this cannot succeed without characters who are easy to identify with. The shallow characters, which include crude ethnic stereotype villains, are compounded by nervous cutting and scene changes, and most annoyingly, alterations between 1.85 and 2.40 aspect ratios. This film is obsessed with gadgets and fantasy technology. If you like "neat" and "cool" things but can't understand people's behavior, this film is for you.
I am a long-term fan of IMDb and have rarely experienced such a large disparity between my own ratings and the group norm. With this film's stellar ratings, I expected a lot more. I can accept that many viewers enjoyed this more than I did, but there is no way on God's green Earth that this is the fourth best film of all time. IMDb need to take a hard look at their rating system, and consider the possibility of manipulation of the rating system.