Perhaps the most dividing movie to have graced cinemas in recent years, the final chapter in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy also happened to be the most eyebrow raising of the three pictures. After the expectations brought on by the likes of The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, it seemed as though fans were expecting Tom Hardy and Bane to deliver something of the same. It's fairly safe to say he didn't. But that's not the reason The Dark Knight Rises ultimately proved to be disappointing; Bane was one of its better aspects, even if you couldn't make out a word of what he was saying. No, the problem was the script itself, which was riddled with obvious plot holes, questionable motives, unnecessary characters, loose ends and was - surprisingly - a little bit dull. It was very much like they the filmmakers decided to shoot a first draft screenplay.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
