Lindsey and I saw The Dark Knight while attending Nerdtacular ’08 on Saturday. Here are my thoughts, bullet point style:

• This is the darkest, dare I say most believable superhero movie I have ever seen. That’s a good thing.
• Heath Ledger as the Joker plays the most disturbing supervillain ever caught on camera. There are a handful of moments that you wish he would just stop what he is doing to his opponents — he’s that abrasive; that tormented. It’s easily an Oscar-worthy (at least a nominee-worthy) performance, and one that solidifies the Joker as the most villainous villain of all time.
• Batman is sorta weak in this movie, dealing with feelings of self-doubt, indecisiveness, and a propensity to invade the privacy of others (though he does the latter only once during desperate times, a decision I would support). In defense of his flaws here, Batman is human after all, not a true superhero (he’s merely a ninja with a lot of money to buy really cool anti-crime gadgets).
• The action sequences, which use little to no special effects, according to the director, are awesome.
• The movie is a too long at 2 hours and 41 minutes. I would have preferred 2 hours.
• I like that Batman had to deal with three notable villains in this movie (Scarecrow, Joker, and Two-Face in that order).
• David Ansen may have said it best, when reviewing the movie for Newsweek: “You may emerge more exhausted than elated. [Director] Nolan wants to prove that a superhero movie needn’t be disposable, effects-ridden junk food, and you have to admire his ambition. But this is Batman, not Hamlet. Call me shallow, but I wish it were a little more fun.” My thoughts exactly.
• Batman Begins is probably a better movie, if only slightly.

Three and a half stars out of four.