Bane’s master plan for Gotham and his role as the main antagonist is suddenly flipped on its head by what feels like a forced twist in thet hird act of “The Dark Knight Rises,” undermining the character. It’s not so much that Hardy’s dedication to the role and the performance is overlooked, but that the film’s writing left something to be desired for the character.
Batman gets his victory over Bane in one last fight before it’s revealed Bane was never the one behind the plan to burn Gotham, but Marion Cotillard’s Talia Al Ghul. While Cotillard is engaging as Talia (oddly acted death scenes aside), it’s a story point that comes too late into the film. Overall, the writing choices that led to Bane being so quickly brushed aside definitely didn’t help any future retrospectives on the character.
Such an aspect of production was obviously out of Hardy’s control, but that didn’t stop the actor from doing everything he could with the character. No matter what, viewers will always remember “The Dark Knight” trilogy for the villains and the powerhouse performances that brought them to life. Even if the voice Tom Hardy used for Bane has become a meme at this point, it shouldn’t take away from how terrifying the actor came across in some scenes.
