Yes, I finally got to see it. But I have very good reasons for waiting. First, I hate crowds, and don’t like sitting next to strangers in the theater. Second, I get motion sick, and so have to sit towards the back of the theater in action movies. (Just the idea of watching The Dark Knight in IMAX makes me feel queasy.)

But I figured that the early showing on a Saturday several weeks after the opening would okay, and it was. I got to sit far enough away from the screen I didn’t get the slightest bit queasy, and no one sat next to me–perfect movie experience.

So yes, Health Ledger was brilliant. I could hardly stand to watch him when he got close to people, because he was dangerous and unpredictable and I truly had no idea what he was going to do, but I knew it wasn’t going to be any good.

And every else was also very very good. And why on earth didn’t they get Maggie Gyllenhaal for the first movie? She actually felt and looked like she could have been an assistant DA, and there was a particular scene where I noticed her laugh lines, and thought, this is a woman of character and personality who has truly lived. And as a bonus, she’s gorgeous.

But the movie was a little too long. I can’t put my finger on precisely what it was, but I left Batman Begins wishing for more, but left The Dark Knight feeling kinda drained and wishing it had been a hair shorter. Not that I can think of anything that should have been left out; it wasn’t anything specific, it just felt long.

We’ll definitely buy The Dark Knight when it comes out on DVD, but I’m not sure that I’ll think about watching it as often as Batman Begins.

Oh, 18 minutes of commercials/previews. Better than 20 minutes, but I really could have done without the commercials. Especially the JC Penny’s commercial. Bletch.