Maybe I expected too much but the Dark Knight didn’t quite cut it for me. I loved the last Batman, don’t get me wrong – great story, plot, etc.

Before I get into what didn’t work, here’s what I did like.

Christian Bale is by far the best batman cast out of all the Batman movies. I’m a huge fan. If he’s in a movie, I’ll probably go see it because of him. Michael Caine was brilliant as Alfred. Played perfect. Morgan Freeman beautifully portrays the integral Lucius Fox character to a tee.

Here are my top five miscues:

1. The casting of Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes.
   This was a train wreck decision. I questioned the casting of Katie Holmes in the last Batman however, Katie would’ve been a better choice. Ms. Gyllenhaal is indeed a talented actress but I just felt like I was watching the understudy on screen instead of the real actress. She didn’t really pull off the soft sophisticated persona that should have been. I didn’t buy Maggie as the subject of desire the two most eligible bachelors are lusting after. It didn’t work. Sure it was a surprise to kill off the love interest but too be honest, I didn’t really care. I didn’t get enough of the character to care.
2. Health Ledger’s as the Joker
   It was a bit creepy watching the movie knowing that Ledger is not longer with us. He had a solid performance without a doubt. Although, I just couldn’t help thinking that he was doing a bad Johnny Depp impression. At times I almost forgot I was watching Health Ledger on screen. He came across as kind of wimpy. So he’s a psychotic clown.. I get it. But that goofy voice didn’t seem to fit. The lip licking started to annoy me as well.
3. Anthony Michael Hall as Mike Engel
   Again, I love Anthony Michael Hall. Heck I love anyone that uses three names. Most of the time when you hear about someone with three names it’s on the news when we’re learning of a new mad man on the loose. This character could have been left on the cutting room floor. It really didn’t fit at all.
4. Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon
   The Gordon character was underplayed. Gordon is a pivotal character in the comic books but here appears as an afterthought. Such a great talent wasted. Oldman was great as always. I just wanted more.
5. Not enough chasing or cool gadgets
   So the Batmobile is cool. It’s so dark in the movie and there is such limited time with the batmobile. The motorcycle was big and clunky. It looks great once it hits full speed but it must be tough to manuever. It left me wanting more gadgets, more chase scenes and less dialog. I guess I’ll have to wait for the next Bond flick.