[pac-man]

Just got back from it. In my humble opinion, this is the be all end all of comic book films. It's what The Empire Strikes Back was to sci-fi, what the Lord of the Rings trilogy was to fantasy. Great acting, great plot, great pacing, great action... in a word, the movie was great. Heath Ledger was phenomenal. That's The Joker, period. And that's not to put down Cesar Romero's portrayal or Jack Nicholson's portrayal or even Mark Hamill's voice over work. They were all three excellent within their respective continuities; however, Ledger's performance is defining. That's a lofty statement, seeing as how the character belongs to the comics first, but, to be honest, this Joker encapsulates the finer aspects of the character that have been introduced by the myriad of writers that have handled him. Aaron Eckhardt was excellent as well. All of the A-list supporting cast elevated the film. There's not enough that can be said about Christian Bale. People may argue about who's the best James Bond till they turn blue, but it's a short conversation about who's the best Batman and Bruce Wayne. All around great film. Christopher Nolan gets it. John Favreau got it with Iron Man. They're two of the only guys so far that have had the ability and sight to not only put the comic on screen, but translate the material in a way that will satisfy fanboys, thrill casual fans, and introduce newcomers without putting off any of them. My favorite film of the summer, my new favorite Batman movie, and I recommend it to anybody and everybody. Now I've just got to get my girlfriend to go see it with me... she's a coulrophobic.