Superb performances all around. The storytelling is everything it needs to be and then some. The dramatic properties, enhanced by the luminous score, are nothing short of what you'd find in an oscar-hunting winter holiday film. The action is exciting, but the real treat is in the dynamic between the characters. It doesn't suffer the minor setbacks of Batman Begins, and improves upon this interpretive world in the characters of the Batman mythos. With "Heat" a noticeable influence, it has its hands full of twists and turns that never feel like 'Holy Crap' moments you'd find in a primetime television series. Though, when they happen it feels natural and the film does not suffer from their understated but prominent place in the plot. It lives up to the hype, but I never gave it much to begin with to avoid ridiculous expectations. Even if I had, I doubt I'd be disappointed.