[Spoiler Warning!]

So…first and foremost - I liked this movie. It was as good as I expected it to be. My main beef with this movie is the plot. It just seemed too linear and constricted. The movie is a sequel. If one had not seen Batman Begins, he or she would probably be lost. From the opening sequence to the ending, the movie just seemed to go one direction.

The plot revolved around the Joker killing people and blowing things up. Nothing wrong with that. He’s the bad guy. That’s to be expected. It just seemed a bit suffocating. The first movie had the whole back story and Batman’s return to Gotham. After that, the movie crafted the whole scenario with the Scarecrow.

I don’t think I’m making sense. It’s hard to explain. The Joker is portrayed as an unconventional criminal. He wasn’t after money or power. “I’m like a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do if I ever caught one.” The Joker would do something, or plan to do something, and then we watch to see how Batman and the Police react. Every one of his schemes (except his last one) were seemingly flawless.

It was a very gritty and intense movie - much more so that Batman Begins. I like it. It’s just, it grabbed on and never let go. Not much breathing room. Towards the end it was getting a bit monotonous. Something was always about to happen unexpectedly. The movie actually reminded me of No Country For Old Men. The story was simple, but the movie wasn’t really about the plot so much as it was about the characters fighting against each other while trying to survive. Since it won Oscars last year, and this movie is so popular, I wonder if this is an upcoming trend in movies.

Heath Ledger was amazing. He has earned my respect back. It’s a shame he died.

The music was excellent. Thei used one track quite a bit. It had an slow ascending violin in it. It always played when the Joker was about to strike. So even before he appeared on screen, I heard the piece starting and I started expected something to happen. Hans Zimmer, as usual, did an excellent job on the score.

I liked the movie. It just seemed a bit stiff and linear as far as the plot was concerned. The whole movie is basically about Batman and Joker - both playing unconventonal roles in society. Batman tries to pass on his role to Dent, but that doesn’t work out all too well.