Overly long and over-rated. I watched this when it was released and did not agree with the hyped up accolades; and I just rewatched years later - still have the same assessment. Christian Bale's mouth alone annoyed me to no end. Why cast someone with a lisp or lazy tongue or crooked teeth to play the title character whose mask draws all focus to the mouth area? Plus there are far more charismatic actors, who enunciate better. The story was too drawn out, the dialog reminded me of the old Batman TV series (which may have been deliberate), and the plot was so twisted yet predictable. Heath Ledger's Joker performance alone could not raise this above a mid level rating for me - plus I enjoyed Jack Nicholson's much more.