This movie had everything it needed: lots of action, a large cast, twists and turns, and a nice long (2 1/2 hour) ride. Sure, it was "dark" (hence the name), but I don't think it was at all as bleak as pre-movie buzz had led me to expect. A worthy successor to "Batman Begins" that, thanks to Ledger's inspired (but probably not Oscar-worthy) performance as the Joker, doesn't suffer from that movie's lackluster supervillains.