Imagine an action movie with more than 120 minutes in which the hero (there is always a hero and a villain - the quality of the villain makes the hero) is absent. You can't identify with him: he has doubts and troubles but he seems to be away from that - our hero is simply NOT THERE. He is a pretty nice guy but that's all.
Then there is the villain. He is a much stronger character yet he is so mad, so psycho that you just can't identify yourself with him either.
There is a sub-hero: but he turns to the dark side for weak reasons (Two Faces is too much of anger for so little).
And of course, the pretty girl that should end with the hero is a double crosser, kissing the tow heroes one at the time.
Did I mentioned the general citizens scared to death? - they seem weak and general portrayed.

That would be a lousy movie...

The best thing in The Dark Night is Joker. Great character and great acting YET I could identify two Jokers in that movie. The first one is confident, strong voiced, etc. The last one is crazy, nervous, hysterical. This last one is THE JOKER.

The Batman has an armour. BAD
Batman has a stupid voice. BAD
Batman seems apathetic (and pathetic). BAD

Badman :)

We could call this movie "The Joker" yet this villain is not good enough for that. Too crazy, too stupid for that. But this is not a Batman movie - he is not even in the title.
So the only thing worth seeing was the acting of Ledger... but that is not enough to make a great movie.

Overall rating - *** (3 in 5)
(MEANING:I would not see this again, I would not rent this movie, I would not buy the DVD. Yet I wouldn't mind seeing it on TV - Sunday afternoon)

as disposable action movie - ****
as comics movie - ***
as comics hero movie - ****

Batman - **
Joker - ****
(see how bad this is?)

storyline - **
(there is no story at all... and the plot as it is seems too much confusion for this kind of movie)
visual FX - *****
sound - ****