Very good... liked it even better after seeing it again

Rating: 9/10 (22 July 2008)

The good: (1) Ledger is amazing and should get an Oscar nomination without question. All other actors do a fine job as well. (2) Even more than Batman Begins, this movie presents very realistic, plausible scenarios to justify the action-packed plot and the presence of superhero heroes/villains. (3) Good replay value. The story is complicated, and acting is so good that it takes multiple viewings to fully appreciate everything that was put into this movie.
The bad (I really have to nitpick here): (1) The movie is one big climax, with tons of action throughout. The plot itself is fine; it's just rushed to fit in all the action. After viewing it a second time, everything makes much more sense (2) One of the final action scenes was a bit hard to follow, but it makes more sense on a regular-size screen than IMAX. (3) This is not necessarily bad, but it's not a "fun" movie. Nothing like the Death Star being destroyed in Star Wars where everyone stands up and cheers. Though the end certainly is dark/profound, and gives you lots to think about after you leave the theater. In that way, The Dark Knight is your typical second act, the "Empire Strikes Back" of Nolan's Batman series.
UPDATE: After seeing it a second time, this time not in the 2nd row at an IMAX, the story and action becomes much easier to follow. After having pieced together the various nuances, I now have much more respect for the movie as a whole. I still shake my head that this is the #1 rated movie on IMDb, but I now understand and support the strong praise it has received.