I must say that the action scenes this time around were much more clearly shot. There are several shots which last 4 seconds or so (very unusual for an action film) in which Batman dispatches several opponents.

Of course this is just my opinion, but anyway, I though the geography and context of the action was much more fluid and cohesive than Batman Begins.

That said, it wasn't fantastic either, but then the movie is so much more about the ideas, the plot machinations and the internal psychology of it's characters that I found the action sequences adequete. There's a great and clear action moment midway through the film which involves an insane car chase and the final battle scene with Batman using sonar and divning up and down a building, beating the crap out of SWAT teams to protect the Joker's victims, (it makes sense in the film), was very entertaining.

I hate all these Tim Burton Batman films and the others. They make Gotham City such a nasty, crappy place it's not even worth saving. I imagine Michael Caine is an excellent Alfred, and that there are good scenes, but I prefer my Batman WITHOUT the aforementioned Thomas Mann element--when I want Mann, I'll see "Death in Venice", not a film about a fellow in a bat suit. And I wanna see Brugess Meredith as the Penguin, and Cesar Romero as the Joker, and Louie the Lilac too!...

BAM! POW! May the silly '60's series never be forgotten!

There's nothing wrong with liking the 60's tv show (although curiously it was actually also a significant infantilisation of the original comic series which, whilst nowhere near as morally complex or dark as the later incarnations, was steeped in noir tropes). It was entertaining for what it was and now acts as an hilarious artifact of the sixties and remains a key part in many a baby-boomer's memory of childhood. Yet you must also realise that a literal adaptation of this extremely camp Batman would not only be ridiculous these days, but phisically impossible. Nobody would reprise their roles except to mock themselves. I'm a big fan of the 60's movie and the commentary by Ward and West is hilarious as they are constantly confused and embarassed by almost everything they see. As Speed Racer and Superman Returns taught us, blind refusal to reappraise our pasts is a moral and intellectual dead end. Batman from the 60's was a man of his times, as is this one. One of Batman's great strengths was the extraordinary flexibility of his character, you could recontextualise him a thousand times and yet the Nitzchean core of an ubermensch defeating criminals by his will to power remains fascinating to us. I love both incarnations equally, but I also realise that this version is more relevant to my life and the reality around me than Adam West's camp Bat ever could.

I am a huge batman fan and a pretty big Bale fan (if you haven't seen it, go rent the 'Shaft' remake for his unbelievably funny and wonderful take on a racist murderer), but Batman Begins was lousy. I know it tricked a lot of reviewers by seeming stately and adult, but I'm sad to hear that there wasn't a change in direction.

Nolan and company made a creative mistake in keeping the grit but losing the melodrama. About all you could say about the Batman Begins is that it wasn't campy. But it also lacked sizzle, and Bale never gave us a hint of the thrill-seeking narcissist that Bruce Wayne, by definition, is.

Tim Burton's original screenplay still hits all the right notes: he makes Wayne rich, kinky, sad, and dangerous. Nolan's Wayne is boring and self-serious. That's just not the kind of person who wants to take on the whole world.

I'm not a 14 year old with masturbation issues and I thoroughly enjoyed Batman Begins.

I can understand not liking a movie. Opinions, like assholes and everything. But, why in Gods name, do people like Durian Joe feel the need to insult those who might have liked Batman Begins. I think people who insult Stephanie for disliking Dark Kight are just as bad. She is entitled to her opinion. I'm sure I don't really care what she says; it won't stop me from seeing the movie, but its an interesting perspective.

I know I will enjoy the Dark Knight because I could watch Christian Bale do ANYTHING and at least one part of me will be a little interested (mmm...Christian Bale...who knew there was such a thing as welsh beefcake...other than Tom Jones...mmm...Tom Jones in concert in Las Vegas...with Christian Bale) So sue me. I guess there is a bit of mastubatory attraction between me and the movie. Oh well.

And I hate Tim Burton. I thought I would just throw that out there. I mean, I can barely stomach any of his movies. It was nice to see a straightforward, not overly production designed, gritty version of Batman on the screen, sans all of the fairy tale aspects Tim Burton brings to the screen.

I'm curious. You're a big Batman fan, you say? what are your favourite issues or runs? I consider myself quite the fan too (although not obssessively so), yet I found Bale's representation of both Wayne and Batman far more true to the original character than any previous cinematic interpretation and I can't think of a run in the past 30 years or so which strayed significantly from the idea of Wayne as self-serious, obssesive, driven and haunted. The narcissism is just a front he puts up to civil society, which again I thought was accurately reflected in the scenes at the hotel restaurant and the "drunken" party scene.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your opinion.

My introduction to Batman was Frank Miller (and worked my way backwards as I've gotten older), and that's probably why I think the Nolan films have been disappointing. We've seen films nail the Miller style -- and it's too bad that those films were of comics I care much less about. But it's a style that's clearly viable on the big screen.

I guess part of the problem is that Batman Begins very obviously lifts stuff from Batman Year One (a good idea!) but just botches the tone on every level. That's what Zacharek is bitching about, and it was problematic in the first movie. BYO isn't drab looking, it casts Wayne as impulsive and risky, and it fully functions as a 'gangsters and cops' drama when there are no superheroes on the page.

There's just nothing enjoyable for me about Batman Begins other than the way the film looks. The pacing sucks, the plot never gets a head of steam behind it and the characterizations are never iconic. I know Bale can reach crazy heights as an actor, so my only guess is that they want him to be brooding and muted. That's too bad, because the suit is plenty brooding and muted as it is.