The Joker loves anarchy, but you could set your watch the plot structure of Tim Burton's Batman. Major plot events happen like clockwork. Napier is dropped into the vat of acid almost exactly thirty minutes into the movie. In the next thirty minutes, Joker is revealed and is first plot is put into action—a diabolical plan to cause nuclear war.

No, that's not right. He plans on causing worldwide economic collapse. No, we're still wrong. He tampers with cosmetics. That's what he does. Evil. Pure evil.

Within the next thirty minutes, that plot has been foiled, Vicki has discovered Batman's identity, and the Joker's final plan—to gas Gotham—kicks into high gear. Now we're cooking…with gas.

The only exception to the film's simple, linear narrative technique, is the flash back at the climax of the second act which reveals why Bruce Wayne became Batman—because his parents were killed in front of him.

By adhered to a traditional three act structure, Tim Burton steadily builds tension during the film's first hour and half, like a roller coaster heading to the top, before finally pushing it over the edge for the dramatic final act. The Joker would have added a few more loop-the-loops, but this roller coaster isn't called Joker. It's called Batman. (Not to be confused with Batman: The Ride.)