3. The Dark Knight Rises
Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion CotillardWhat It Could Have Been How many advantages does one movie need? Not only was The Dark Knight Rises working off the bat of two great movies in the series, it had enlisted an even heavier list of acting superstars to prop it up. When fans saw that Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway had been added to the cast list, they were naturally excited. Hardy had already worked with Nolan, and his ability to change his physical approach to character meant he was an ideal fit for Bane. Similarly Anne Hathaway seemed an obvious fit. Add these names to acting royalty like Bale, Caine and Morgan and you've got safe hands all round. The Reality While some will always dispute this analysis, Rises is significantly weaker than the previous two films in the Nolan-directed franchise. Aside from the distracting plot holes, there's also the matter of Hardy's character being completely ruined in cinema by that voice mask that makes him impossible to understand. The main problem however is the dodgy pacing, with the film taking a good 45 minutes to hit it's stride. Since almost everything seems to happen in the final hour of this bloated Nolan outing, the film becomes a little too lop-sided to be rubbing shoulders with its predecessors.