The first third is pretty one-dimensional until the other early characters from Batman start appearing; making this the reality or history behind the canonical myths and legends in the Batman comics and Dark Knight movies. It's hard to compare Phoenix's performance with Heath Ledger's. They're both powerful, but I can almost hear Ledger's version asking Phoenix, "why so serioussssa?"Excellent use of music and to a certain extent, dance. My favorite scene, is his routine on the stairs (see poster) to Gary Glitter's "Rock & Roll Pt. 2"--well, that and an honorable mention for De Niro's last scene.
