2. The Auto-Pilot Has Been Fixed - The Dark Knight Rises
I had a lot of issues with
The Dark Knight Rises and was able to catch the majority of the obvious foreshadowing as it came in incredibly lengthy exposition, but this one slipped by me and turned out to be a pretty great twist. I think Christopher Nolan, as great a director as he is, sometimes tries to cram too many twists into his movies (
The Prestige being the most prime example). Likewise,
TDKR is full of "gotcha" moments that are a bit sloppy and not as greatly executed as they should have been. However, they cut away from the "auto-pilot is broken" schtick fairly quickly, so when it returns as being the saving grace of Batman, I'm able to nod and say, "Well, done, Mr. Nolan. Good placement." Like some of the others on this list, this twist is a set-up from the start and directly plays into the narrative. There's really no build up to it after its debut (in contrast to my number one pick on the next page) and its subtlety is why it's so effective.