10 Exact Moments Fans Turned On HYPED Movies

There are a million reasons that 2012's The Dark Knight Rises couldn't live up to its predecessor, 2008's The Dark Knight, but most of them can be summarised in two words: Heath Ledger.

The late actor's staggering turn as the Joker, that earlier film's antagonist, elevated a messily plotted and actually fairly flawed franchise instalment into blockbuster perfection. Thanks to Ledger's mesmerising turn fans were able to overlook some dicey political subtext and egregious plot holes, a trick that director Christopher Nolan was unlikely to pull off without the actor's talents.

And indeed he couldn't, as the third film in the trilogy is an overstuffed, overlong return to cornier superhero theatrics. Casting the Occupy movement as the film's villain was one misstep, but the movie at least boasts a stellar turn from Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway makes for a passable Catwoman.

But the late-in-the-game reveal that Marion Cotillard's character is Talia Al Ghul, combined with her absurdly over-the-top death scene, makes a mockery of the movie's self-serious tone. The scene is a hilarious moment and Cotillard appears to be having great fun with her theatrics, but the franchise can kiss goodbye to that much-vaunted "political thriller" credibility.