Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy still stands out as an incredible chapter in superhero cinema, but that isn’t to say that it’s completely perfect. Starting with Batman Begins in 2005, the trilogy continued with The Dark Knight in 2008 — one of the best superhero movie sequels ever made — and ended in 2012 with The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale’s turn as the Caped Crusader was brought to life under Nolan’s creative direction, putting a realistic spin on many characters from the Batman mythos. The trilogy is hailed not just as an incredible three-film arc, but one of the best movie trilogies of all time.
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Just because Nolan’s trilogy is great, it doesn’t stop there from being several minor issues with the movies. There are several plot holes in the Dark Knight trilogy, and a number of other leaps of logic that actually seem a little silly on reflection. While we love Nolan’s Batman movies as much as the next fan, that’s not always enough to overlook the few elements that simply don’t make any sense.
7) The Narrows Aren’t Mentioned After Batman Begins
While Batman Begins boasted some incredibly accurate Batman scenes compared to the comics, it also created a few issues for the wider trilogy. Throughout the first movie, much of the action takes place in or is centered upon the Narrows, a particularly impoverished part of Gotham City. Bizarrely, after the first film, the Narrows isn’t really featured or mentioned at all. Considering its importance to Batman’s crusade in Batman Begins, the apparent abandonment of the neighborhood is incredibly strange and really doesn’t make any sense.
6) The Fallout From Scarecrow’s Fear Gas Is Glossed Over
Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow was one of the best Batman movie villains in Nolan’s trilogy, and his plan was truly horrific. After Batman thwarts the scheme to disperse Scarecrow’s fear toxin across the city, it is mentioned in passing that the Narrows were hit incredibly hard. However, neither The Dark Knight nor The Dark Knight Rises mention it again, meaning that the thousands who were almost certainly affected by the toxin seem like little more than an afterthought.
5) Why The Joker Wasn’t Blamed For Two-Face’s Murders
Heath Ledger’s live-action version of the Joker is iconic, and his role in The Dark Knight completely overshadowed the introduction of Two-Face into Nolan’s trilogy. The ending of the second movie sees Two-Face die after embarking on a murderous rampage, and Batman opting to take the blame. However, it seems pretty strange that nobody thought to simply pin the murders on the Joker, who had been killing indiscriminately and terrorizing the city up to that point. Simply put, it really doesn’t make sense that Batman had to shoulder the blame, outside of it simply being a way for him to heroically martyr himself to protect Harvey Dent’s legacy.
4) How Bruce Wayne’s Body Deteriorated So Quickly (Then Recovered Even Quicker)
The Dark Knight Rises begins by establishing that Bruce Wayne’s body has been considerably damaged by his time as Batman. It’s explained that he has practically no cartilage left in most of his major joints, and that’s why he walks with a considerable limp. For starters, this explanation doesn’t make much sense, as he was only active as Batman for approximately two or three years, and it would take much longer to cause such lasting damage to his body. Secondly, it’s not a physical condition that would be resolved as simply as the movie suggests, meaning that it’s baffling in more ways than one.
3) Gotham’s Entire Police Force Going Into The Sewers At Once
While the Dark Knight movie trilogy is a masterpiece, there are a few elements that often draw complaints. One of these is the scene in The Dark Knight Rises in which almost the entirety of Gotham’s police force enters the sewers at once in order to search for Bane. Even considering the intel they had, there’s no way whatsoever that this would be established GCPD procedure, especially as the sheer volume of officers entering the tunnels would make any operation far more dangerous than necessary. While it’s important for the plot, it makes no sense in any real-world terms.
2) How Bruce Wayne Got Back To Gotham From The Pit
One of the most inspiring moments in The Dark Knight Rises sees Bruce Wayne climb free of the underground prison known as the Pit. He then returns to Gotham to bring the fight to Bane and save the city. The movie never establishes exactly how he achieves this, though, and it doesn’t make any sense at all. Bruce Wayne is one of the world’s most famous men, and he was shown to be stranded in the middle of nowhere in an unknown country. At best, there’s a whole story that the audience isn’t told, and at worst, it’s a frustrating plot hole that undermines the narrative integrity of the trilogy.
1) How Batman Escaped A Nuclear Explosion
In one of the most obvious movie twists ever, The Dark Knight Rises reveals that Bruce Wayne survived the events of the film and is living out his retirement in peace in Europe. Unfortunately, the ending makes no sense, as it suggests that Batman was able to exit the Batwing completely unseen in order to escape a massive nuclear blast. Putting aside the fact that he had no time to fix the autopilot, it’s still a revelation that doesn’t make sense, as there’s no real way for him to have escaped the vehicle, and the thought of Bruce Wayne maintaining his anonymity well enough while crossing multiple borders is actually pretty laughable.
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