13 Most Disappointing Movie Threequels

2. The Dark Knight Rises

The Originals: Christopher Nolan reinvented Batman in unforgettable fashion with 2005's gritty, technically superb and sharply-acted Batman Begins, before following up three years later with the superior The Dark Knight, which remains for many the best-ever entry into the superhero genre.

The Threequel: Though The Dark Knight Rises is indeed a good film, and even a very good film, it just doesn't live up to the brilliance of The Dark Knight. Neither its villain nor its overall narrative feels anywhere near as refined, there are some woeful plot holes, a terrible death scene from Marion Cotillard, and an ending that chickens out on being truly daring.

Again, it is a solid entry into Nolan's saga, but having had some critical distance from it over the years, it definitely fell a little short of what fans were expecting.