The more time passes, the less I like this movie

Rating: 4/10 (3 November 2014)

To be frank, I absolutely HATE the Bane character. Right from the moment I read that Bane would be the main villain in this film, I was wary of it. That didn't stop me seeing it multiple times and buying the Blu-ray, but the more I reflect on it, the more I realise that despite its overall coherence and impressive action sequences, the narrative is riddled with stupid plot contrivances and the plot itself is driven by incredibly stupid actions by the characters. First, the idiot CIA man who takes three prisoners on board his aircraft during a covert extraction without checking either their identities or their cuffs (or shooting them on the spot or even running them off at gunpoint, which maybe he should have done). Bane himself takes a huge and probably unnecessary risk in delivering himself into the stupid CIA man's hands too, in that he already has the professor as a prisoner. Next, Bruce Wayne being basically disabled and far less intelligent than in 'Begins' or TDK at the start of the film, a stupid contrivance that is the basis of monumentally stupid actions by him later on. Next, Bane breaks into the Gotham Stock Exchange in full view of the public and executes a computer program that bankrupts Bruce Wayne (and affects no other wealthy Gothamite, as far as we see in the movie); however Bruce is too stupid to simply demand that an investigation take place, since it's obvious (and he has evidence on the flash drive he takes from Bane's hacker) that some form of ridiculously overt fraud has just been perpetrated by Bane. Bruce then reveals the location of the clean energy device to Miranda Tate, a woman whom I'm fairly certain from my viewing of the movie that he's only ever met once, despite her investment in his controlled fusion project. His background check on her is also revealed to be useless, as he only finds out she wasn't always wealthy when she tells him herself. Next, the ultimate stupidity in the movie, how someone as intelligent as Bruce Wayne, having been only recently told by his doctor that he's basically disabled, decides to put on his old Batman suit (he could have even had Lucius rustle up that stupid 'iron bat' suit from the 'Knightfall' saga to support his wrecked skeletal system) and go toe to toe with someone who is clearly itching to break him in half, without at least trying gassing him, tranquilising him (which we see him do to other thugs later), tasering him or even throwing a few concussion grenades at him, resulting in him having his back broken and then dumped in an underground hellhole while his nemesis converts a fusion reactor into a bomb with a countdown of six months. Those who insist that despite the damage to his skeleton, Bruce is still as strong as he was before clearly don't understand infirmity and just to make sure no one misses the point, Bane actually taunts Bruce's weakness as they fight. Clearly, Bane wasn't made cleverer than Batman, Batman was made stupid to serve the plot. This however is no more stupid than the original 'Knightfall' storyline; Nolan simply should not have adapted it for his third film. Then consider the stupidity of the GCPD in allowing themselves to be trapped underground with no reserves to even direct the traffic (and if you don't hold sufficient personnel back to function as an effective force, you haven't maintained a reserve). Next, Bruce Wayne's broken spine is miraculously healed by a punch in the back and a few sit-ups, one of the most stupid plot contrivances ever, but worse, his other physical disabilities are cured by him simply getting his push-ups program back on track. While heroes making spectacular recoveries from life threatening injuries is a cliché of just about every movie genre, this 'recovery' actually insults the audiences' intelligence (I note here that Batman was cured of his spinal injuries by magic in the 'Knightfall' saga too, another reason why Nolan shouldn't have used it as the basis for this movie). Those who argue that Bruce's back injury wasn't so severe as to paralyse him may have a point, but putting myself in Bane's shoes here, I'd make damn sure that if I'd captured BATMAN, that he wouldn't be walking ANYWHERE until well after I'd executed my masterplan, if ever. Then, having been rescued by the miraculously rejuvenated Batman, the GCPD then executes a frontal assault against Bane's forces; fortunately for them Bane's forces stupidly decide to give up the massive advantage favoured by the defender (particularly in an urban environment such as Gotham) by obligingly rushing into the attack themselves and almost everyone seems to forget that the battle scene that ensues belongs in a movie like 'Kingdom of Heaven' or 'Lord of the Rings', because they're all carrying 20th century guns rather than medieval weapons. Then, knowing that Bane has the clean energy device, Batman gives Miranda Tate a gun and turns his back on her, even though he should have least suspected she might not be trustworthy. While there are a few other plot contrivances that just laughable rather than dumb, mainly in the handing over the role of Batman to John Blake, who will no doubt be killed on his first patrol in the armour, having not even had Bruce Wayne's ninja/league of shadows training (while I'm on the subject of Robin John Blake, does anyone actually believe that Joseph Gordon-Levitt could kick Christopher Judge's ass? Presumably that's why it took place off camera), the out and out stupidities I've listed above make me wonder how the director of the sublime 'The Dark Knight', the incredible 'Inception' and the excellent 'Batman Begins', a director renowned for the intelligence of his movies, could be responsible for this stupidity-dependant travesty of a Batman film.