1) Oscar for Ledger. Unbelievable performance. I thought, with Daniel Day Lewis and Javier Bardem, I had seen the most evil characters on screen ever, but Ledger's Joker is by far as crazy as Hannibal Lector and as evil as the "Natural Born Killers." The thing with his tongue was pure creepy. I like that he was impervious to pain---a sure sign of a loonie.
2) Great small part for Anthony Michael Hall, who was one of the geek kids in "Weird Science." (the reporter)
3) Interesting story line that could be read one of two ways: Evil wins, because to win, Batman must become evil. Or, heroism wins, because to save the image of a hero, Batman sacrifices himself.
4) Hate to see Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine go.
5) Overall, great movie. However, one can suspend reality for only so long; how does ANYONE move that many barrels of gas and/or explosives ANYWHERE, let alone into a hospital, without someone ah, getting a clue?
6) Still don't like Bale as Batman. Keaton was my favorite.
Regarding Ledger: I totally agree. He made you uncomfortable just watching him. I loved the way he introduced himself to the mobsters with a “magic trick.” Too funny and really, really twisted. As to the suspension of disbelief...well, I did say it wasn’t perfect. I thought it was a little too long with too many plot lines but, Ledger’s performance really made the movie for me and there were several other good performances from the rest of the cast as well.
For my money, nothing is going to top “Wall-e” this season. Best movie I’ve seen in a while.
Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman is one of the best things about the new “Batman” movies. He is far and away superior to the others who came before him, and will stand the test of time as the definitive screen Batman.
Keaton, despite being miscast, was actually good in the role. I will readily admit to that. But Bale is in a different league. It helps, of course, that Bale has superior material to work with, but he brings more to the role than Keaton (or Kilmer and Clooney). In addition to his considerable acting talent, Bale also passes the ‘can I imagine him kicking my a**’ test. Keaton was in no way an intimidating physical presence.