Without a doubt, this is the best movie, EVER! (That's right, I said ever!) I am an avid movie goer and a huge Batman and Joker fan, so I know what I'm talking about. This is the movie I have been waiting for all my life. Christian Bale is Phe ... Nominal (yes 2 words, he's that good). Maggie, not so much. An average performance at best. It could be that she is surrounded by so much talent that she could not shine. Aaron Eckhart is great, as well as, and always, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman. The distance that Jack Nicholson took the Joker character from where Caesar Romero left it, has been multiplied by a number only an MIT honor student can calculate. Heath Ledger truly, TRULY deserves an Oscar, and not out of mourning or pity. His performance is one of the best that I have ever seen. The plot is deliciously intricate yet random, in a scary, psychotic way. I use "random" but not in the negative " this movie doesn't make sense" sorta way. It does make sense, and THAT's what's scary! This is not just a great comic book movie; it is a great movie and a new standard. Thrilling yet Hysterical!!!