I liked it a lot, it definitely lived up to the hype for me, which these days is almost harder to do than to just make a decent movie.

• Loved Bale despite his (as always) weird gray all-the-same-length-across the-top front teeth. He continues to invest this character with an amazing sense of grim grief. It was just etched onto his face from scene 1.
  
• Loved Heath Ledger. Loved. Outstanding performance. Certainly worth the praise it is getting. No question. On the one hand, it makes it even sadder that he’s dead now; just think what he could have done. On the other hand, to go out on the back to back performances of Brokeback and this? Wow. Talk about going out on a high note. Overall the performance just blew the fucking top off, but I have to say his mannerisms when he visits Dent in the hospital were just pitch fucking perfect. And when he walks out and is waiting for that last explosion? The move he makes with his arms there? Oh, Heath.

But I thought the last half hour dragged, too much time setting up the Two Face character. If he lived to be the villain of the next movie then it would make sense to me. But since he didn’t, it made it feel long. I thought they could have edited some of that down. Yes, I understand that bringing him down was certainly one of the Joker’s goals, but I thought the whole bit with the bombs on the ships just lagged. Didn’t need it, we already KNOW the things that pointed out to us (or we should) and it just seemed like wasted time. While neither Iron Man nor Wanted made me get shifty in my seat, the last half hour of this had me really feeling the time. There was stuff they could’ve cut (and I think should’ve). Coulda been a little tighter.

That said, still tremendous. Super dark and delightfully so. Really a tour de force in the sequels department; takes the first movie and ratchets up quite a few notches. The additions of Ledger and Gyllenhaal really sent it over the top. Kudos. I’ve seen it twice already, I wouldn’t be reluctant to see it again. But then that’s nothing new for me and good movies; I am a repeat big-screen viewer and proud of it.