10. The Dark Knight Rises - Bane Vs. Batman II
The first time I watched The Dark Knight Rises I left slightly underwhelmed. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something just didn't feel right. The same thing happened when I watched The Dark Knight for the first time and upon subsequent re-watches I realised it was Two-Face's short screen time and Joker's rather anti-climactic exit. Having the chance to watch it again (and again and again...) my initial disappointment was replaced with an acceptance that it was the only way the story could go and was actually perfect. The same cannot be said for TDKR. Watching it a second time, it hit me that it was Bane's demise that left the sour taste in my mouth and, unfortunately, still does to this day. I loved everything about Bane - he was the perfect villain to follow Heath Ledger's wily Joker. While he does not quite match Ledger (of course), Tom Hardy gives us an intelligent, mysterious and physically menacing antagonist who truly pushed Batman to his absolute limit. So it was such a disappointment to see him go the way he does. I was itching for the final fight since I saw Bane throw Batman around like a ragdoll. I wanted Batman to return, outsmart and, ultimately, outfight Bane. Instead we were treated to possibly the worst line in the entire trilogy, followed by a fun but way too brief final fight. To top it all off, Batman doesn't even defeat him. He's about to die when Catwoman appears and blows Bane away with the Batbike. After all the suffering he endured at the hands of Bane, it should have been Batman, not Catwoman, who finished him off.