The Joker made the film; Christian Bale's Batman paled in comparison, and when the two shared the screen, it was the maniac with the painted face who drew all the attention. The plot was great, Gary Oldman was fab, the special effects and action sequences were for the most part spot on. The only problems were the length, Gyllenhaal (boring, except for the scene in the warehouse) and the loss of pace when the Joker wasn't around to spice things up; not something, I hasten to add, that I put solely down to Ledger's skill, but to the script and direction too. Well worth the cost of the ticket to see.
Very much worth the price of a cinema ticket to see on the big screen due to good cinematography, beautiful scenery and very, very good battle scenes. Impressed by the blood splatterage and hats. Also would like more western men to indulge in Mongolian drinking songs as a result of seeing this film. The worst thing about it was that it was a little overlong, and yet parts seemed a little rushed; however it was far from boring. Pacing was the only problem - even the child actors were good. Part love story and part historical epic with a dash of war - good stuff.
This is not for you if you want cinema to educate. This is for you if you want cinema to entertain and amuse. Don't go expecting proper "oscar-worthy" cinema - do go if you want to watch something fun and frivolous. Some dodgy areas (the plot could have been executed much better, there was no real sense of tension, why have Winstone in a film if he has to put on an accent, etc) but it really doesn't matter; I was satisfied. And not just because of McConaughey's shirtlessness. :D