Dark Knight - a good film, but all-time top 10?

Rating: 8/10 (30 January 2009)

I must confess I was somewhat skeptical going into Dark Knight regarding Heath Ledger's performance. I had heard a lot of the hype prior to seeing the film and I figured much of the hype surrounding his performance was related to and out of sympathy for his tragic death. My skepticism was unwarranted as his performance was fantastic.
The film was fun and suspenseful. It is a good film, but for me there were too many contrived scenes for it to be truly a great film.
Great films can come in all shapes and sizes, but the ones I find profound don't hit you over the head in an effort to be profound.
Yes, Dark Knight addresses some good issues, but it does so in such an unsubtle manner that it disrupted my suspension of disbelief. For example, the passengers of the two ships deciding whether or not to blow up the other ship to ensure their survival. In watching this sub-drama unfold, the first thing that came to my mind was the unbelievable incompetence of the authorities in allowing the two major ships to be filled to the brim with explosives. The next thing that came to mind was that I was watching a variation on some kind of Lifeboat exercise. I give the writers and directors credit for trying to make this more than just an action thriller, but for me it just was not credible.
I also found Harvey Dent's rapid fall/transformation into Two-Face somewhat somewhat lacking in credibility as well.
I would recommend this film as a must watch as it is mostly very well done and Heath Ledger steals the show as the Joker, but no way is it is a top 10 film of all time.