Wasn't about the beauty and charm of big name actors. Ledger did an amazing job as Joker, always twisting things so that the audience and the characters were surprised by human nature. Bale was awesome as Batman and I'm soooo glad they switch Katie Holmes out for Maggie Gyllenhaal (much better acting). But I don't think Rachel's role was all that important except to serve as a symbol of false hope for Batman and the reason for the schism between two-face and batman. Even though it was long, I was never bored.....but I'm not exactly sure where the plot line will go from here. Obviously Batman will still be around but who will the villain be?