The Dark Knight trilogy is widely recognized as one of the best film trilogies based on comic books. There's a lot of merit to this critical assessment as both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight are incredible movies. Although The Dark Knight Rises is the weakest of the three, it's still a fun movie in its own right.
Despite the praise received by the Dark Knight trilogy, all three films have their fair share of plot holes, narrative discontinuities, or generally perplexing moments. In particular, The Dark Knight Rises has multiple scenes that leave fans scratching their heads in confusion. That said, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight aren't flawless pieces of cinema, either.
Updated on May 12th, 2023 by Ajay Aravind: Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy remains just as celebrated over ten years after the third installment came out. Batman will always be a treasured icon, so his popularity doesn't come as a surprise. As such, this list has been revamped to include more information about all the forgotten plot holes in this era-defining trilogy.
10 Rachel Followed Crane Despite Her Misgivings (Batman Begins)
Characters doing silly things simply for the sake of the plot isn't that uncommon. It happens all the time in movies, but it's rather glaring in films like Batman Begins, which are known for their incredibly solid narrative frameworks.
Rachel is an assistant DA who had firmly established her distrust in Crane throughout the movie. Therefore, it makes little sense that she would follow him down to the basement, even if she wanted to see what he was up to. If Crane was leading her there, then he clearly had something planned.
9 Rachel Had No Reaction To Bruce's Return (Batman Begins)
Rachel Dawes and Bruce Wayne were best friends growing up, and she was even there the night before Bruce disappeared. More importantly, she's the one who told him to confront Falcone if he wanted to satisfy his vengeance. And yet, Rachel had zero reaction to Bruce's unexpected return from the dead.
Alfred might've told Rachel that Bruce was actually off in China somewhere, so her response isn't necessarily out of character. However, Rachel should have at least displayed some happiness upon Bruce's return. All they do when he's back is idly chit-chat as if nothing ever happened.
8 No One Noticed The Toxins In The Water (Batman Begins)
The toxin that Crane had funneled into the Gotham water supply needed to be inhaled to work, making it supposedly undetectable, but this doesn't explain the mechanism. The film would almost lead on to believe that no one in Gotham boils water for cooking or takes hot showers, even when carrying the stress of living in this nightmarish city.
Producing steam isn't a difficult thing to do for a normal household. Perhaps the toxin levels in the water supply were too low to work as intended. Even that doesn't make sense, since people started experiencing their worst fears almost immediately after the League's plan was underway.
7 Bruce Didn't Remember His Father's Death (Batman Begins)
The dialogue between Bruce and Falcone before he leaves Gotham is pretty great, except for one strange tidbit towards the end. Falcone mocks Bruce, saying Joe Chill told everyone that Bruce's dad had begged like a dog before he was murdered.
It's a taunt that would've been extremely effective had Bruce not been there the day it happened. Sure, he might've been a kid, but eight-year-old kids are capable of remembering their worst experiences. In fact, Bruce almost certainly remembered his parents' death, or he wouldn't have confronted Falcone to begin with.
6 The Bank Heist Was Too Easy (The Dark Knight)
The opening scene of The Dark Knight was excellently paced and served as a fantastic introduction for Heath Ledger's Joker. The problem was that the whole bank heist was littered with impossibilities, mostly at the end.
The first inconsistency is that a bus somehow had the time to back its way through a bank during a busy day in Gotham. Further, the Joker pulling out into traffic after completing the heist and casually merging into a line of moving school buses is implausible at best. That said, this scene is undeniably iconic, even if it doesn't hold up under careful scrutiny.
5 Rachel Survived A 15-Storey Fall (The Dark Knight)
For as great as The Dark Knight is, there are a lot of instances where the rule of cool outweighs any semblance of logic. One such instance is when Joker throws Rachel out of a high-rise window.
It's an admittedly great scene, especially given the spine-tingling lead-up to it, but it's unbelievable that Bruce and Rachel both walk away unscathed. Batman does utilize his cape to slow them down, saving Rachel from a gruesome death, but this doesn't change the sheer height of their fall. Fans are curious to know what his cape is even made of.
4 The Joker's Multiple Contingency Plans (The Dark Knight)
For a man who supposedly never had a plan, the Joker seemed to have a million of them. Not only that, he had plans B and C, ensuring that every possible contingency was covered. It's ridiculous how intelligent the movie makes The Joker. He's always about ten steps ahead of everyone else and plotting his moves out like it's an epic chess match.
The biggest example is when the Joker tries to kill Harvey, hoping that Batman would take the bait. Nonetheless, the villain also has a backup that completes his scheme even if Batman sees through the first stage of his plan. This includes warehouses conveniently filled with explosives for Rachel and Harvey.
3 The Police Should've Been Gunned Down (The Dark Knight Rises)
Too many things about the police officers being buried under the city felt ridiculous. This includes everything from the fact they were even there in the first place to the moment they made their stand against Bane's armed men.
It's impactful to see them all standing there, but the very notion that they weren't instantly gunned down is narratively unjustifiable. Even when Batman arrives, he takes down only one of the tumblers, leaving the others to wreak havoc in the streets of Gotham. It's just such an illogical scene from start to finish.
2 Batman Survived The Neutron Bomb (The Dark Knight Rises)
The Dark Knight Rises has a fair bit of head-scratchers in its final act, making it the weakest film in the franchise, and none are more inconceivable than the nuke. Towards the end, Batman flies the nuke out to sea and manages to detonate it a safe distance away, making everyone think he died. Except he didn't because he escaped and started living his best life with Selina.
The question is: how did Batman manage such an overwhelming task without suffering any casualties? There were only about five seconds left until detonation in the last shot of Batman piloting the craft. That's simply not enough time for the hero to evade the blast radius. Not even Batman can survive a neutron bomb at point-blank range.
1 Bruce's Rapid Return To Gotham (The Dark Knight Rises)
Absolutely nobody knows where the fabled Pit is located, but it can be assumed that it's on the other side of the world from Gotham. Bruce Wayne is also bankrupt when he's thrown into the Pit, so he has no money to make the journey home. And yet, he somehow finds his way back to Gotham.
The Dark Knight Rises doesn't bother explaining this plot hole, but fans find it extremely annoying because the movie makes it a point to highlight Bruce's wealth and connections. On top of everything, Gotham is under lockdown at this point, making fans wonder how on earth Bruce bypassed all that security without being recognized.