Wow, that is a stretch. It was entertaining, had a good story and decent acting. At the end of the day it was a super hero movie and did little to break the mold as far as they go.

My read is that they were probably planning to bring the Joker back (which is why Batman saved him at the end) in either the next film or the one after that. Now that Heath Ledger is gone though, that’s unlikely to happen (what actor could possibly take up where he left off-or would even want to try?). the rumor is that the Riddler will be the main villain in #3. Christopher Nolan and company have re-booted this franchise in an extraordinary way-I have every confidence that they’ll be able to keep raising teh bar no matter who the next villain is.

We are talking about the comics here. It’s entirely possible Two-Face could still be alive. In the comics, Harvey Dent had his face repaired a couple of times (Bruce Wayne paid for it) and still was evil. And he ripped his own face up.

We also have to prepare for the possibility of another actor playing the Joker. We are talking about the main villian for Batman. I nominate Daniel Day-Lewis. There have been five Batman’s (Counting Adam West) and six James Bonds. Someone else CAN play the Joker, as jarring as it may seem.

But I’m ready for the Riddler. They could turn him into a Zodiac/Son of Sam type character, who sends clues to Batman, who must hunt him while the cops hunt Batman.

I nominate Guy Pearce.

and so I could see him as possibly being able to carry on the Joker but, as I mentioned earlier, I have a feeling most “name” actors will shy away from taking on a role that Ledger so completely dominated.

The Riddler could really work as long as they re-imagined him as a less campy/more realisric psycho character in the style of the current films.

I thought the film was amazing. Favorite since LOTR 3 and best theater experience since T2 with the audience.
Just wanted to say if you get a chance see this at the imax! The full screen “imax film” shots were breathtaking and at moments I felt like I’d fall forward when showing the depths of the city. It was nice recognizing so much of the chicago scenery in the film as well.

I think they left it open for Dent to survive depending on the direction they want to go as well as the Joker being involved or not. The new batsuit being mentioned as being able to handle cats might tie in catwomen…

Do you want Robin?

I say no. I just don’t see how he’d fit in to the style Nolan is going for.

Plus I hate him.

GREAT flick. Everyone did an incredible job in their role…I thought Eckhart was just as good a Dent as Ledger was a Joker.

I hope the Riddler is in the next movie…after all, they may very well have set him up in this one. Remember, the guy who was going to blackmail Batman? He showed curiosity, intelligence, and a certain lack of moral compunction.

And of course, his first appearance on screen, he was called “Mister Reese.”

Get it?

(Hey, it’s a much less dumb name than “Edward Nygma.” Hell, they’ve even changed that in the comics.)

at the very end, when Gordon was destroying the Bat-Signal, and his first swing with the ax just bounced off of it without any damage. That seemed kinda awkward for the whole Batman-is-a-criminal tone that scene was trying to convey.