For me, the movie was somewhat of a disappointment. As almost all of the critics have stated, Heath Ledger was amazing: probably the best character performance ever in a superhero movie. As for the movie itself, the rest paled in comparison to The Joker. I'm ok with the lack of a happy ending, but who ever heard of a superhero movie where our hero is incompetent? Batman pretty much never succeeds at anything and his actions result in chaos, death, and despair. Could Christopher Nolan not have let him get one thing right, the poor, pointy-eared bastard? Geez. Also, the high-tech gadgetry got a little too silly at times. It was a very good movie, but if Heath had not died, it would never have had the buzz to propel it to the biggest opening ever, and those others of you who saw it also know in your hearts that I type the truth.