Good enough that I saw it twice, once on the day after release and again this week at a super-fancy theater where they served food and drink at luxury seats. Twenty bucks a seat. That oughta tell you how much I liked the film to pay for it twice.

SYNOPSIS: Bruce Wayne is still running around Gotham beating up bad guys and trying to win the heart of the girl he can't get (Rachel Dawes, played this time by Maggie Gyllenhaal.) But, things have to balance out: here comes a very demented interpretation of the Joker (Heath Ledger) to try to throw in a little chaos. Gotham has a new hero, though (one that doesn't run around in a cape); District Attorney Harvey Dent (even passive Batman fans will recognize that name, but I'll save it for those who aren't familiar).

PROS:You're pretty much promised great action scenes, and you'll get some pretty good ones. I'm a big fan of the Dark Knight route (as opposed to the campy version of Batman), though some might prefer the lighter, goofier intepretation. Heath Ledger's performance is a highlight (I'd have to say it probably isn't as groundbreaking as some might make it out to be, but it was damn good. Watch for the disappearing pencil trick), and it's hard not to like Lucius Fox (played by Morgan Freeman)

CONS: . . . while Christian Bale makes a kickass Batman, the gruff voice thing is bad to the point of distraction ( Lucius can hook him up with kevlar armor plated with titaium and they couldn't get him a built-in voice changer?) The acting isn't great, but it doesn't really have to be: it's a comic book movie

OTHER COMMENTS:Lots of topical issues briefly brought up (ex: use of interrogation techniques of questionable integrity, responses to terrorism, and privacy issues). The movie is LONG, but the good thing is it doesn't leave you hanging.

OVERALL: Worth seeing in the theater, worth getting on DVD.