I know he wasn't in his prime anymore but he sought out the confrontation with Bane and he went into it with overconfidence (I beat Ra'as, I can beat Bane) and yet this didn't jibe to me with how ''on the back foot'' he seemed so early in that fight. Maybe if the hits were more convincing it'd have been clearer why Batman was already in trouble - but as I said, half of them didn't look like they were connecting let alone seem like particularly hard blows. So, some better work on Nolan's part, the fight co-ordinator guys, maybe even the sound effects editor could have sold the whole thing better.
I guess I also just don't like this idea of Bane's mask being his Achilles heel. Even without knowing it was Bane's specific weakness Batman would have damaged it in the first fight because Bane was letting him punch him in the face. And Batman not coming to his own conclusion that the mask was important is a head-scratcher. It has wires and stuff, clearly not just decorative. You'd aim for those deliberately.
So I would have removed that as a story device and simply have Batman beat Bane through...I dunno, renewed vigor, renewed force of will. Make it that Bane's own victory early in the film defeats him later on. Poetry. So they rhyme.
I guess I also just don't like this idea of Bane's mask being his Achilles heel. Even without knowing it was Bane's specific weakness Batman would have damaged it in the first fight because Bane was letting him punch him in the face. And Batman not coming to his own conclusion that the mask was important is a head-scratcher. It has wires and stuff, clearly not just decorative. You'd aim for those deliberately.
So I would have removed that as a story device and simply have Batman beat Bane through...I dunno, renewed vigor, renewed force of will. Make it that Bane's own victory early in the film defeats him later on. Poetry. So they rhyme.