Believe the hype - this film really is that good! Dark, intense, psychological, violent...best to leave the little ones at home.
Heath Ledger is every bit as wonderful as the hype. His Joker is something else, a mass murdering nutcase with no empathy and a twisted sense of humour. Ledger also manages to give The Joker sex appeal, which is quite something, considering the nature of the character!
Christian Bale is dark & brooding as The Batman/Bruce Wayne, Aaron Eckhart is brilliant as district attorney turned villain Harvey Dent, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is an intelligent Rachel Dawes. And who could forget Gary Oldman's understated cop Lt Gordon and Michael Caine's long suffering Alfred the butler.
The whole cast is brilliant, the cinematography is breathtaking and the script is great. If this doesn't clean up at the Oscars next year, I'll be very surprised. 5 star rating!