Okay, so I went and saw it tonight (20:30 showing, not that it matters). First off, every showing of it tonight was sold out. Obviously, expectations are/were high. But how does it stack up? I'll let the picture speak for me:


In my own words, 'EPIC WIN'.

So, on to my impressions.

First off, Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker. He came off as genuinely insane ('I do it for the fun of killing', in essence), and his 'no rules' approach to life is in direct contrast to Bruce/Batman's approach (he has only one rule, but that's beside the point). Christian Bale, once again, is a good sort of Batman.

Oh, and the gadgets. More fun this time, you get the new suit, which is basically the old one but easier on Mr Bale, seeing as it's much easier for him to move in the thing. There's also the batpod, a pretty badass motorcycle with guns. Recall that there's no true batcave (since Wayne Manor got burned down at the end of Batman Begins), but the storage area for all Bruce's Batman stuff is as fun as ever.

I guess you'll want a bit of plot, too.
As foreshadowed at the end of Batman Begins, Batman has a new criminal to contend with in Gotham city- the Joker. He doesn't know it, though. The movie begins in the same vein as Batman Begins, with some less interesting crime and fun beating people up. Gotham also has a new DA, one Harvey Dent, who, with the help of Batman, begins (or I guess continues) an aggressive campaign to rid the city of their own little mafia. More follows, in spoiler form, if you're so inclined.

The mob doesn't like this, so they take advantage of an offer from the Joker- he will kill Batman for them (by the logic that if Batman is gone, Gotham will revert to its former [lawless] state). The Joker then begins a campaign of terror, aimed squarely at Batman.

The general theme seems even darker than Batman Begins, and with Bale's character becoming more tragic as he realizes what must be done for Gotham. Not that feel is everything- this is better than Batman Begins, and even better than Serenity.

TL;DR version:
Go see this. Now.

nice picture to describe the movie, made me laugh plenty.

So, if this is better than Begins, I might have to stick out the money to go see this one... if I have time..

Better than Serenity? This must be a truly exceptional movie! So that makes two movies on my to-see list, Wall-E and the Dark Night.

I agree, Dark Knight was simply amazing. So far, of the 4 friends I've talked to who've seen it, they all love it too. Absolutely astonishing (and for once the previews really didn't give anything away and didn't have the best parts, w00t)

You will go and see this movie.

I mean right now! Why are you still reading this! Turn your computer off, get in the car and see it right now.

If you already seen it, you're already bared witness to the awesome that is The Dark Knight. Congratulations.

EDIT: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDxgNjMTPIs pretty much summed it up.



Well., Since You mentioned a Whedon movie, and are a fan of his stuff, watch this.

http://www.drhorrible.com/

This may be your only chance of seeing it since it's gone on Sunday.

I'm unfortunately in the middle of nowhere for the next three weeks, but hopefully I'll get to see it anyway. In the meantime, I'm re-watching Batman Begins to refresh my memory of the plots, characters, etc.

I had been rather disappointed with previous Batman movies in the past, mostly due to the inaccuracies prone in superhero/graphic novel movies which I've come to accept and that no actor has yet portrayed the Batman that had become my favorite hero (the one depicted in the animated series in the 90s and the CN Justice League cartoon). However, I've looked over that and thought this was just a stunningly entertaining and intense movie, surpassing my expectations greatly.

The fall of Harvey Dent (Two-Face) was very much like watching The Lion King after the first time and hoping Scar wouldn't kill Mufasa but similarly both events inevitably happened. Aaron Eckhart, I think that's his name, did an excellent job in his role, much better than Tommy Lee Jones.

And obviously Heath Ledger put Jack Nicholson to shame, in my opinion (although my memories of the old Batman movie is rather vague). Often times with big movie stars you don't forget the actor (as in you can't help noticing that Mr. Freeze is the governator), but you completely forget Ledger is on the screen and a completely different person is on the screen. I tried to examine the lines and look past the white paint but couldn't even recognize Ledger's face. So, as others have said, he did a pretty good job (although that tongue thing got kind of annoying, but I guess your mouth gets dry after a while making that voice.)

Anyways, see it. You won't be disappointed. (Ha, I sound almost like a movie critic)