So … I’m glad I held off on the reviewing this one. I knew deep down there was a reason I was waiting, and as the opportunity to view it a second time came closer, that reason became clearer. I initially felt plainly too bogged down by the mass acceptence of the thing; like Wall-E, that, “what else is there to say?” feeling that pretty much describes my year in movie watching lol. But it’s kind of more than that. I knew the movie was as perfect as everybody was saying the moment I saw it, and that’s important as to my own opinion on the thing; don’t get me wrong, I know where the good reviews are coming from. There’s very little to complain about.

BUT.

It doesn’t stand on its own.

Christian Bale’s voice is ridiculous.

… and great as Maggie Gyllenhaal may be, it’s still a cast change that I can do without and that in contrast to the otherwise flawless continuation of Batman Begins is just plain too distracting. I am not of the ilk that believe comic books are the revolutionary future of cinema; I find the concept ridiculous, it’s an entirely different artform I just really don’t think this movie will endure even a decade. That, and I really believe that people who think comic books are the revolutionary future of cinema should be taken out and BIFFed.

Umm .. that, and despite how I will probably still shed a tear if it happens: I really think that if Heath Ledger wins for this when he didn’t win for Brokeback would be kind of an insult – because though he’s great, it would never have been one of his best remembered performances were it not for what happened. It’s a practically perfect movie, don’t get me wrong … but there are just too many niggling drawbacks for me to go with the masses on this. Batman Begins is a much more complete and assured production, and I’m pretty sure I’d say the same of at least two of the 80s/90s movies on a repeat viewing too.

At the same time of all this, of course, it’s gotta be said as I value it in considering a movie’s quality: it gets people talking. One feels the need to argue exactly why you did or didn’t like it. And to me, that in itself makes a movie better than it otherwise might be.

In the disappointing collection of releases outside of the Oscar season this year, it’s no surprise that people latch onto “The Dark Knight” … I just can’t wait for whatever finally snaps them out of it (sigh – Watchmen, I imagine …)

The ending, on the other hand, is fantastic.