solid entertainment, verging on art in certain ways, but 9.6 rating is completely ridiculous

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2008)

First the good: Heath Ledger is mesmerizing, as is Gary Oldman. Many of the images are spellbinding. The basic mythology of Batman is fleshed out thoughtfully and well.
But 9.6? 3/4 of people giving it a 10/10? That's crazy. This just isn't a perfect movie, by any stretch. The plot is convoluted and sometimes muddy, and makes certain leaps that aren't well-earned. For instance, 1) Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face (supposedly based on his profound love for Rachel, which we hear about but don't really witness for most of the movie.) 2)Batman's decision to turn himself in: it's not clear whether all along he's calculated that Harvey will pretend to be Batman, or if he just adjusted his plans based on Harvey's move and Alfred's pep-talk. Also the action, and the cuts from scene to scene, are sometimes cluttered, repetitive, and confusing.
Hopefully the IMDb rating gods will step in and make sure The Dark Knight doesn't end up rated the #3 movie of all time, which would be a travesty. It's a worthy effort, but one of the best movies of all time? Please.
p.s. Too bad Heath Ledger is gone: a fantastic young actor.