6. Themes As Lectures
The majority of Nolan's more recent films are thematically dense, and the director makes this abundantly clear by having characters speak the themes directly to the viewer through thinly-veiled dialogue, rather than allowing them to sink in naturally by virtue of what takes place. Though it might serve Nolan's big-budget agenda rather well, for anyone who has watched their share of films outside of the multiplex, it comes off as a little lazy and insincere. Take the class warfare theme of The Dark Knight Rises; there's no subtlety to it at all - Selina Kyle warns Mr. Wayne of an impending storm in the most overt way possible to convey the idea to the viewer. While it might sound impactful in a trailer, it seems somewhat heavy-handed in the final product (though complaining about heavy-handedness in a film about a guy dressed as a bat might be misguided anyway).