Michael Jai White, Anthony Michael Hall AND Eric Roberts in 1 movie?! Am I dreaming?

No, seriously... I can understand why this isn't everyone's cup of tea. I can also dig why people ain't keen on Chris Nolan's take on Batman full stop. What I can't understand is people who's opinion I respect giving this film half/ or one star rating.
Set aside Heath Ledger's Joker and any one part of the screenplay and what you have is amazing cinematography, a colossal score, an inspired cast (with the exception of Maggie Grandma-face) and fantastic set design n' special effects. Take all emotion out of the equation and look at the facts. This movie looks and sounds fucking amazing. The actors are brilliant. Even Aaron Bum-chin does a standup job as Harvey Dent. I'm so glad Matt Damon turned the role down (stuck up cunt).
My one gripe (besides Grandma-Face) is that this is more a story about Gotham than it is about Bruce Wayne.
The extrapolating a fingerprint from a spent bullet is hokey, but perfectly serviceable for a COMIC BOOK MOVIE. People don't like Heath's Joker, I say fine. I'll give you that. He ain't exactly plucked from the pages of Bob Kane's strip. But the interpretation works in the movie. As does Harvey Dent.
The whole business with the underworld and the money laundering is superb. Had a tone that was quite reminiscent of Michael Mann's Heat. The extraction from Hong Kong had a similar vibe to a Mission Impossible flick. The overturning lorry is jaw dropping, even if the chase which proceeds it doesn't make exact sense if you OVER ANALYSE it. But frankly, if you're over analysing a comic book movie then you need to get laid, you need to get out more and you need to eat your greens.
The Batpod/ bike thing is really cool and Morgan Freeman looks like a badman in a dickie bow tie.
To me, this film works because you can take Batman and transpose him into a "nearly-real-world" environment. Besides a rational suspension of disbelief I can quite happily sit through this and revel in every whiz, bang, swoop and kerchow. Recently they tried the same approach with The Amazing Spider-Man and to my mind, that fell on it's arse.
I hope whoever takes the Batman baton next takes things to a different playing field. Something dark but more fantastical. I'd very much like to see ManBat, Killer Croc, Scarface or The Mad Hatter done justice. Fuck... for that matter I wouldn't mind seeing The Riddler either.
Jim Carrey can suck my dick. The rubber faced fuck-weasel.
Anyways.
Batman Begins... Excellent
The Dark Knight... As good
The Dark Knight Rises... ???
------------------------------------------------------------
It's a very well crafted bit of film making. From the cinematography and the sound design, through to Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard's score and the production design.
The casting is inspired. The performances (bar Maggie Grandma-face) are outstanding and the overall tone and thematic resonance of the film mean that it has "well worn" cinematic elements, executed with style and a genuine love of the source material.
I gave this film 5 stars but also fully respect the opinion of those who think less of it.
Heath Ledger's Joker is a variation on what appears in the comics. A very tricky character to transpose and make believable but I think Nolan and Ledger manage to accomplish that by making only a few concessions.
Maggie Grandma-face is a marginal step up from Katie Holmes but I'd have much rather preferred to se the latter get blown up instead.
I have a whole heap of respect for anyone who's deeply passionate about particular movies. After all, if we all liked the same things then the world would be a boring place. It's just people who give this film half a star, or one star that I can't understand. If you take out the issues of divisive character portrayal and the obligatory hollywood plot issues, what you're still left with is a beautiful looking, amazing sounding and obviously expertly crafted piece of film making. I'd have a load more respect for the naysayers if they gave it a 3 star rating. Half a star just comes across as irrational, stubborn and ignorant of what artistry goes into making a film.
In a nutshell: Even if you strip away the things you personally don't like about the film (The Joker, particular scenes etc), at it's core is something which outshines most hollywood movies.