Batman Begins was the best superhero movie ever, partly because it restored the franchise's darkness. The writing and direction for Dark Knight was over-the-top, but not because of its villain. See it, but the characters and plot line are less intriguing than BB. That must be the price for the frightening Heath Ledger, as the most memorable madman since Jack Nicholson (The Shining). Aaron Eckhardt was solid, but the rest had little room to move (including Christian Bale). There was witty and insightful dialog, but it seemed to be from The Joker. TDK is The Joker movie that (thankfully) annihilates Jack Nicholson's Joker, and not the BB followup I expected. But that's my problem, not yours.