Very good, but no masterpiece

Rating: 6/10 (26 July 2008)

I admit it: After seeing the ratings( that I usually trust) on this site, I went to see The Dark Knight with great expectation. I also admit that Batman Begins quite disappointed me because it was so different from the comics I grew up with. But I was ready to watch The Dark Knight with respect for the new Batman.
I found The Dark Knight to be a wonderful film, but not a masterpiece. I expected it to open my eyes like The Shawshank Redemption or Memento - creative movies you can't forget because they have touched something you and surprised you. I was surprised by The Dark Knight, but it didn't touch me. For me it was an action movie with dark psychological elements and wonderful, complex characters. Though without anything extraordinary about it.
Actually only a few things actually bothered me about the movie: 1. The many story lines which made me think that the Joker isn't the main storyline - perhaps there even isn't one. 2. How most of the film only contained a Joker who laughed at Batman's rescue attempts - not the Joker whose mind we really get to enter. 3. 3. Batman's voice when in costume. 4. How Scarecrow was suddenly made a small criminal. 5. How Lucius Fox suddenly was a new Q (from Bond, not Star Trek) and even Bruce Wayne acted like the clumsy agent who had a hard time with his new toys (technological objects). 6. How Two-Face was killed so quickly.
These things I can overlooked because of the wonderful acting and the amazing plot and direction. But that is not enough to create a masterpiece.
The IMDb's top 250 has been my guiding list for classic movies. I have become a movie freak, mostly thanks to this site. I trust the ratings in here. Therefore I expected to see a masterpiece. And this wasn't one. Not like Dr. Strangelove or Leon. Not even close to A Clockwork Orange or Amadeus.
So tell me this: why has The Dark Knight received such respect from some of the best movie critics in the world who have gathered here on this site? I read your comments, but I still haven't gotten an answer to what makes this a masterpiece.
I suggest people to watch the film and decide for themselves. Just think: In what way will this movie make you reflect over your own life and is it enough to be #1?