The part that's getting lost in all of the buzz is, of course, that the movie's star is actually, you know, Batman (Christian Bale). But if it's as good as Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan's first installment in this latest realistic reinvention of the franchise (early reviews say it is), it's going to be not just the biggest hit of the summer, but also one of the best films of the year.

My only fear is that it's being overblown because of Ledger and that it might go into the annals of history as having been highly overrated because of the death factor -- the proven fact that when someone famous dies, everything he or she has done is treated like gold for a period of time. That said, have you seen the the trailers? Because it seems like that performance Ledger is giving -- and the movie itself -- is worth all that hype. Let's hope.

Reviews By People Who've Actually Seen It:
Variety
Rotten Tomatoes