TV's Frink said:

bkev said:

^I think part of the critical reception, and I hate to say it, stemmed from Ledger's death. I can certainly guarantee you the man wouldn't have won that oscar if it wasn't a posthumous one. I'm not denying that he did more than justice to the role - because, he really did - but much of the hype and positive reviews probably had a lot to do with his death.

This, a million times this. And truthfully, and obviously unfairly, this is one part of my disdain for the movie. I got tired of people praising it endlessly (and Ledger's performance in particular) because he had tragically died. He was good, not great, in my opinion.

I thought you were going to mention the part where the Joker has dogs attack Batman.

Ledger's death definitely increased the hype, but TDK had a huge level of anticipation to begin with. Plus, Ledger gave his performance before he passed, and I think the movie would have been well-received by audiences nonetheless.