Excellent of Kind But Vastly Overrated

Rating: 7/10 (31 March 2009)

The Dark Knight already has far more comments than anyone will read, making me doubtful mine will get much notice. But someone has to say this movie does not belong in the top ten where the voters have currently placed it. If not for that I would probably praise its good points more than criticizing its flaws.
The main flaw is the large number of plot holes, how the Joker was able to plant his bombs in the hospital and on the ferries being the biggest. Rather than make the story credible, the filmmakers seem to rely on lots of big-budget action, visual effects and seriousness of tone to carry the audience past such quibbles.
I note the rating drops considerably among older voters like me and suspect there's a clue there in why all the nine- and ten-star votes have been cast. If this movie is compared mainly to superhero films, then yes, The Dark Knight is probably at the top, having an unusual amount of complexity to it, especially on questions of moral ambiguity. I do like that the Joker attacks Batman and his allies by giving them moral dilemmas. I also like the development of Two-Face, a credible hero gone bad.
If there are readers out there who haven't seen The Dark Knight, I recommend the film with reservations. If you take superheroes seriously you will love this, but if you're not impressed by over-the-top action or are inclined to look back critically, you may be disappointed