Everyone going in to this move, unless they were living under a rock for the last 2 years, should know what they are getting themselves into. Sasha Baron Cohen's brand of humor is vulgar-plain and simple. The genius of it is that by pushing the envelope so far he exposes the real feelings and bigotries of real people, be it in Borat or Bruno. In hilarious and disturbing scene after scene his fearless dedication to depravity is like a train wreck you can look away from. Some scenes are funnier and more to the point than others, and I think it misses its mark much of the time relative to Borat, but I enjoyed it.
This film definitely lived up to the hype, and Ledger's Joker is one of the most superbly crafted villains in recent memory. Visually stunning. My only criticism would be that we felt no emotional connection to the Rachel/Harvey romance, or to any of the characters for that matter, even when they are in peril.