Dark Knight? Or Dark Shite?

Ok so firstly I have 2 apologies to make, the first is for actual writing about this film as EVERYONE ELSE IN TEH WORLD EVAR is doing so. And secondly it was not shite at all, that's just the closest i can get to a witty headline.

So after months of waiting eagerly for the UK release of The Dark Knight, i've seen it, and the day before release thanks to my local Cineworld; i must admit, i loved it, it really is a great film. But that's all it is, a great film, i'm not an expert, but i can safely say this is not the best film of all time.

Lets get it out of the way, Heath Ledger was really really good. I found my self engaging and laughing and being genuinely creeped out by what he said, and waited for his appearences on screen. I think what warmed me to his part the most was the fact i felt that it wasn't the undercurrent of "he's dead so this HAS to be good" that made his part good. I know that sounded muddled but i hope my point gets across; it's that he was good independent of his death.

But rather than focus on what a great film it was, i thought i'd voice some of my opinions that made me feel it wasn't as good as it could have been, and this will be spoiler free.

1. The plot/narrative was extremely muddled, there was no clear line of progression running through it. There were times where every character would be dead set on getting somewhere, or someone, and i would have no idea why until i thought through it. This may be my own stupidity but it left the film feeling a little clumsy.
2. Too many characters. What i like about superhero-esque films is the way there are few characters that make up the story, but they are each important. There were so many characters in the film it left me feeling a little muddled again. And i'm not saying this is bad in films as a whole, i freakin LOVE Christopher Guest, but in a Batman film...well...it just doesn't seem to gel.
3. Gotham city was so.......normal. Again i'm not a batman expert but from what i have seen, i love how Gotham is just as much of a character as Batman himself. In this film it just felt like Chicago, or Boston, or New York, which reduced the city's impact on me; and in a way, it seemed like these characters don't fit into that surrounding.
4. Batman wasn't iconic enough. I couldn't tell who was the main part, and again i'm not saying this is bad of all films at all, just this one, and i can see how the title lacking "batman" may have been an indication of it. But that was what i loved about Batman Begins, which leads me onto my final point.