While I enjoyed Ledger's performance, more than once he reminded me of Dana Carvey's Church Lady.

In general, I agree w/ Freddie. While much of what Raft and the juvenile James say is true, I don't think it changes Freddie's point much. Writing has taken a back seat in movies for a long time now. And for no reason.

The Dark Knight is a visual spectacle and it's dark. Dark is the new "twist." Remember how great everyone thought "Jagged Edge" was because of this amazing, unforeseen "twist" at the end? This led to 25 years of plot turns, which as long as they beguiled the viewer, required no internal consistency.

So it is now with "dark." The 007 movies, comic books, Jason Bournes, etc., are all: visible interesting w/ more than just explosions, but "artistic" cinematography, high-class directing, and darkness. Though I don't think these movies are great, I think they're good and generally enjoyable to watch and better than their category predecessors.