While there have now been several iterations of theBatmanfranchise,Christopher Nolan’s gritty reboot trilogy easily stands as the most influential and complete. Afterthe failure ofBatman & Robinsuggested a dour future for Gotham City’s caped crusader,Batman Beginswas able to tell an interesting origin story that solidifiedChrisitan Balein the role of Bruce Wayne. Nolan was able to complicate the narrative within bothThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises, butnot every character inThe Dark Knighttrilogy was given the proper arc that they deserved.
Nolan’s films were certainly not lacking in great performances;Heath Ledgerfamously won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as the Joker, andAaron Eckhart’s performance as Harvey Dentwas just as deserving of praise. Despite the inventive depiction of many belovedBatmancharacters,The Dark Knighttrilogy wasted some great actors in insignificant parts with little screen time.Here are ten characters thatThe Dark Knighttrilogy didn’t do enough with.
10Talia Al’Ghul
Played by Marion Cotillard
One of the most shocking twists inThe Dark Knight Risesis thatMarion Cotillard’s character was in fact Talia, the daughter of League of Shadows leader Ra’s Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). While the revelation helped bridge a stronger connection withBatman Begins,Cotillard was not given enough time to sufficiently explore Talia’s motivations. Her references to a romance with Bane (Tom Hardy) are a distraction considering how packed with action the third act ofThe Dark Knight Risesalready was.
While he has many strong qualities as a writer,Nolan has frequently struggled to develop strong female characters. Wastingan actress of Cotillard’s acclaimwas particularly disappointing, especially since she had done much better work with her villainous role inInception. Talia has a rich backstory in theBatmancomics, and could have easily been one of the franchise’s best villains.
The Dark Knight Rises
9John Daggett
Played by Ben Mendelsohn
Ben Mendeslohnis one of the best actors working today,with roles like his work as Danny Rayburn in the Netflix family drama seriesBloodlineproving that he is capable of elevating even weak material. While it was exciting to see that he was joining the stacked cast ofThe Dark Knight Rises,the character John Dagget is little more than a pawn in Bane’s plan to take over Wayne Enterprises. It’s suggested that Daggett is a rival of Bruce’s, but the film never takes the time to detail Mensolohn and Bales’ on screen interactions.
The Dark Knight Risesis the longest and most complicated installment of the trilogy, andthe storyline involving Daggett is simply not very interesting. His motivations are purely superficial, and Daggett shows nothing but ignorance when selling his soul to the League of Shadows. He’s ultimately more of an annoyance than an actual villain.
8Sal Maroni
Played by Eric Roberts
While it obviously draws from the superhero genre,The Dark Knightis an epic crime saga that draws inspiration fromthe films ofMichael Mann. It made sense thatThe Dark Knightwould delve into the criminal underbelly of Gotham City, butthe character of Sal Maroni is overshadowed by the Joker.Maroni’s schemes involving a series of Gotham City bank heists are ultimately thrown off course when the Joker takes control of the local crime gangs, and uses them in his attempt to make Batman reveal his identity.
Maroni’s relatively minor role inThe Dark Knightis disappointing, asEric Robertsis a talented actor who deserved better material.Anyone who has seen his haunting performance in theBob FosseclassicStar 80knows he is capable of playing a manipulative and shady character; unfortunately, Roberts was negated to the background inThe Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight
7Peter Foley
Played by Matthew Modine
All three installments in Nolan’s trilogy analyzed the complicated dynamic that Batman has with Gotham City’s police department; despite a strong working relationship with Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Batman doesn’t trust many of the cops due to rampant corruption within their ranks.The Dark Knight Risesintroduced the character of Peter Foley (Matthew Modine), a cop who initially gives up his duty after Bane takes over Gotham City. Unfortunately,Foley doesn’t play a significant role in the story untilThe Dark Knight Rises’ final battle.
While there was an opportunity to develop a unique character arc,The Dark Knight Risesdoesn’t take the time to show Foley’s redemptive arc. His death feels largely inconsequential when it should be devastating; considering that Modine is an acclaimed actor whoworked withStanley KubrickonFull Metal Jacket, he certainly deserved a more fleshed out and substantial role.
6Carmine Falcone
Played by Tom Wilkinson
The later greatTom Wilkinsonwas an acclaimed actor known for playing dynamic characters;prior to his tragic death, Wilkinson scored Academy Award nominations for his roles inIn the BedroomandMichael Clayton. While the notion of an actor of Wilkinson’s caliber taking on the role of an iconicBatmanvillain was thrilling,Batman Beginsdidn’t devote enough time to Carmine Falcone. Falcone is portrayed as a generic thug who is ignorant to the League of Shadows’ manipulations; he’s ultimately taken advantage of by Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) before he takes on the guise of “Scarecrow.”
Batman Beginsignores the interesting comic book history of Falcone, one of the rareBatmanantagonists that doesn’t have any supernatural abilities. Thankfully,John Turturrowas given the opportunity to play a more well-developed version of Falcone when the character appeared as a primary antagonist inMatt Reeves’The Batman.
Batman Begins
Played by Juno Temple
The Dark Knight Risestook a surprising detour whenit showed a positive female friendshipbetween Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and the young woman Jen (Juno Temple). Although their friendship provided some insights into why Selina was so motivated to steal from the wealthy class of Gotham City,Jen is largely forgotten about towards the end ofThe Dark Knight Rises. Selina eventually loses track of Jen once she becomes complicit in Bane’s plan to capture Bruce and subject him to torture.
It’s a glaring flaw, asThe Dark Knight Risesdoesn’t take advantage of Temple’s comedic abilities.While Nolan’s films are typically light on humor, Temple could have added some cheeky comic relief to a story that risked taking itself a little too seriously; give how hilarious Temple was in the fifth season ofFargo, it’s unfortunate that her talents were wasted on such an inconsequential character.
4William Earle
Played by Rutger Hauer
Rutger Haueris responsible for one of the greatest monologues in film history in the classic science fiction noir thrillerBlade Runner,a moment that was largely improvised. Unfortunately,Hauer’s character William Earle is little more than a tool of exposition inBatman Begins. Earle serves on the board of Wayne Enterprises, and suggests a lack of confidence in both Bruce and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). His involvement in the company ceases after it is taken public, and Wayne chooses to acquire the controlling shares.
The Dark Knighttrilogy wasted an opportunity to bring back Hauer for the sequels, as it would have been interesting to see his reaction to the events of bothThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises. While the trilogy certainly has its moments of spectacle, the subplots detailing the corporate espionage within Wayne Enterprises is easily its most underwhelming subplot.
3Little Boy
Played by Jack Gleeson
While Joffrey Baratheon may bethe most hated villain in all of Westeros,futureGame of Thronesactor Jack Gleeson has a brief role inBatman Begins. He appears as a young boy who serves as one of Batman’s only friends; once the toxins released by Scarecrows are unleashed upon Gotham City, Gleeson’s character is taken under the protection of Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes). However, the boy’s name and fate are never revealed, which is odd considering his knowledge of Batman’s capabilities.
Showing Batman’s inspirational qualities was important, butthe subplot involving Gleeson’s character is a little too saccharine forBatman Begins. The film was acclaimed because it presented a gritty, realistic version of the mythology that avoided overtly heartfelt moments; having Batman become friends with a small child felt lifted right out of theAdam Westera of the franchise.
Played by Michael Jai White
Nolan rarely fails to assemble impressive casts, and often manages to cast talented actors in smaller roles.Michael Jai Whiteis an accomplished action star with many cult films on his resume, butthe gangster Gambol is one ofThe Dark Knighttrilogy’s least imposing villains. Gambol thinks that he’s among the most feared men in Gotham City, but he’s easily embarrassed and defeated by the Joker. In fact, it’s during Gambol’s death sequence that Ledger first utters his famous “why so serious?” line.
Given how terrifying Ledger’s performance was,it was hard forThe Dark Knightto develop any of its supporting antagonists. Gambol is only in the film in order to emphasize why the Joker isone of the greatest screen villains in the history of cinema; his individual characterization leaves a lot to be desired considering White’s talents.
1Mike Engel
Played by Anthony Michael Hall
WhileAnthony Michael Hallgained significant popularity thanks to his starring role in many ofthe classic “Brat Pack” films, he plays only a brief role inThe Dark Knightas the television reporter Mike Engel.Engel ultimately has very little impact on the story ofThe Dark Knight,as he simply reveals information to the audience about the Joker’s plans. It was an odd expositional framing device considering that the films never delved deep into Gotham City journalism.
While Engel himself isn’t necessarily a poorly written character,the casting of an actor of Hall’s fame was very distracting inThe Dark Knight.Audiences familiar with his roles inThe Breakfast CluborSixteen Candlesmay have been taken out of the movie; it would have been far more effective if an unknown performer had been cast in the minor part.
