I think The Dark Knight is a very sloppy movie. The best way I'd describe it is a smart movie for dumb people. Let me explain:
As far as sloppy, the action scenes are very poorly directed and edited to the point where I'm think Nolan filmed without storyboarding ahead of time. Specifically the batmobile/batpod chase; though, I'd say Nolan is good at building up anticipation and making the stakes clear, which can make these awkward action sequences still enjoyable.
In general, the script is pretty weird. There is that filler opening story with Batman going to Hong Kong that goes nowhere, and doesn't make any sense. We have scenes that just end with no resolution that are never brought up again, like Joker at the party after Batman saved Rachel... so, did Joker just leave after that? In general, Joker feels invisible because of plot convenience, like how he escapes the really stupid bank heist in the beginning or how he blows Gotham PD, and is cartoonishly the only one standing after. That's not to forget how poorly written deus ex machines make the resolution super easy for Batman where he uses the magic super computer to pinpoint Joker's exact location because writing a scene where Batman does detective work would require someone who isn't fucking Goyer to write. And speaking Goyer...
The dialogue is fucking terrible. It's exactly what you get from Goyer and Nolan. This ties into why I think this is a "smart movie for dumb people." First of all, it's super fake sounding when every scene is punctuated with obvious "this goes in the trailer" lines, but what is worse it what leads up to them-- awkward dialogue that TELLS the audience the exact themes of the movie incase they don't understand. The most obvious is "you die a hero" line which just feels awkwardly placed into the scene, but it's not as bad as the speech Gordon gives to his kid at the end. Fans will defend it as saying "Gordon is speaking to the audience", and that's obvious, the point is the dialogue is bad and so on the nose for the VERY OBVIOUS THEMES OF THE FILM--on top of that that doesn't work in the universe of the movie because the dumb kid Gordon's telling this to wouldn't understand any of it. No one talks that way to a child.
But the one exchange of dialogue that stands out as the worst and most hilarious is the one that leads up to another "trailer line" that is "Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stranger." The line itself isn't bad and sounds like a very Joker thing to say, but the lead up just incapsulates how dumb the dialogue in this movie is. The bankteller who is on the ground after being shot awkwardly starts speaking to Joker saying the lines "Criminals in this city use to believe in something--honor, respect! What do you BELIEVE IN?" See how stupid this dialogue is? But this is a Goyer script for dummies, so what is being sad doesn't matter. All that matters is that it sets Joker up for a movie line that will go in the trailer. That's the dialogue in TDK in a nutshell.
There are so many more problems I have with this movie: Aaron Ackhart is a terrible actor, and his Two-Face is comical. Bale, while a great actor, is distracting as Batman thanks to his voice which, again, comes off as comical. In addition to that, Batman is a lot dumber in TDK compared to BB. I'm not sure why they set him up as a ninja if they weren't going to bring any of that back--would have been very helpful, especially at the end of TDK.
These are all problems I think always existed with the movie, but now it's aged over 10 years, and it shows. What was Nolan's version of "grounded" in 2008, isn't now. Given how this film is even less stylized than Begins, a lot of the more cartoony stuff (and especially all the plot conveniences) really stand out as bad. Joker plays by Tim Burton Batman movie rules, not the "grounded" Nolan rules, and I don't think it works at all. Needless to say, I think TDK is a bit overrated. Hahaha! It's better than Rises, though, which carried over all of TDK's problems and amplified them to the point where it is the worst solo Batman movie, imo.
Nothing can touch Nolan's Batman films.
It's comical to think anything else in the comic book movie adaptation canon would top The Dark Knight.
Read about the history of the film.and how influential it was to the entire film industry. It literally drove the Academy to make Best Picture nominations up to 9 nominees because of the Dark Knight getting snubbed for Best Picture.
You can say you don't personally see the greatness of the film but to say it's objectively mediocre/overrated/mid is a terrible and misinformed opinion to have.
#TenetOutNowInCinemas
Independence Day was also a watershed movie; doesn't mean it's above criticism. Or good.