Wow.... what can I say... wow.
First the negative. Nolan does not write women well. That being said Maggie Gyllenhall did wonders with a paper thin character. You can understand Wayne falling for her over Katie Holmes portrayal.
Saw it at Imax, and unless you have a great seat at the back the action scenes look a little bit like a jumbled mess.
The good.
Batman has always been my favourite superhero because he is simply a man. True he is a man with a lot of cash at his disposal, but Nolan has created a world so gritty and real that most importantly, the viewer can relate. People are driven to do what they do because of the world they live in, and the way they choose to handle it makes them either villains or heroes. Sure the action never lets up, but the story was so intense that you didn't mind the roller coaster ride. I mean after 3 pints of beer before hand I was busting to pee from the beginning, but forgot about it 1/4 way through.
Obviously, for me, the best thing about the film was Heath Ledgers funny, frightening, intense and brilliant portrayal of The Joker. The Joker has always been this campy villain, but what Ledger does is strip him of the camp and just make him a bloody scary anarchist. I man so swathed in his own pain that he no longer feels it. He feels no remorse for what he does and does not fear his death. The ticks and mannerisms only add the the menace. You have no idea when he is going to go off.
If Javier Bardem can win an Oscar for his portrayal of a cold killer in "No Country For Old Men" the Heath should not have a problem with this. Out right brilliance. If I see a better male performance this year I will be so happy.
The Film A-
If there is one thing I would change it would be something that happens at the end. But I can't talk about it here because there are people who haven't seen it.
SPOILER!
Highlight below if you are curious.
When he two ferries are in the harbour. It would have been been shocking, and also play right into the Jokers point that people all have that dark side if the big tough black prisoner on the prisoner ferry has chucked the bomb detonator into the ocean, but the nerdy white man had gone ahead. Would have said a lot about society and the world we live in today. The corporate white guy playing God with peoples lives. It would not have been happy, but it would have made a valid point
