I had the chance to see the new Batman movie tonight.  Now that is something else.  I thought Batman Begins was good but it’s a high school play compared to this.

A lot of people talk about Heath Ledger’s performance.  To be honest, it is really quite amazing.  He truly is a psychopath in every sense of the word.  Whenever he’s on screen you wince and squirm about his next move, his next line, his next thought.  We’ve seen criminals in the past, there was always rhyme and reason to them existing.  Not so with the Joker.  He is pure evil incarnate.  He has no goals but to see the world burn.

The movie has a great pace too.  Clocks in near 2.5hours with almost non-stop action throughout.  You only have a few moments to catch your breath and make sense of it all before the next act begins.  Seeing it in IMAX is the only option.  There’s just too much action on screen to shrink the perspective down.

Christian Bale is Batman.  There is no doubt.  Michael Cain is great as Alfred.  Maggie Gyllenhal is a good Rachel (my biggest gripe from the first film was Katie).  Aron Eckhart does a noble job as Two Face but it seems lacking in time when compared to the Joker, like he could have had more to do.

I am certainly returning to see it again.  Hopefully this week!