Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

So, it's confession time. After I saw the last Batman with Christian Bale and Heath Ledger I swore I wouldn't go to another Batman while Christian Bale played the part of Bruce Wayne. The reason being that there is something about his deep scratchy Batman voice that does just that, scratch at my nerves. Christian Bale himself is a good actor but as Batman I could care less. I have to admit though, Ann Hathaway (who is one of my favorite actresses, of many) playing cat woman intrigued me. Combine that with the fact that I have two boys who are still in the idolize super heroes stage I sucked it up and told them I would preview the movie first because of the rating and the darkness of the first movie. Depending on how the movie seemed I would then allow or not allow them to see the movie. I am about to admit that I was surprised, in a good way. The Dark Knight Rises was a pleasant surprise. As a viewer you saw more of the "people", than necessarily the "part they play." The movie focused more on the story and the why of what was happening instead of just dark imbalances brought on by people who were terribly done wrong. Don't get me wrong, this is Batman we are talking about so there is  definitely the bad guy who was wronged that has to get even, and the bad guys who need a leader, but the story has a more human side to it which I greatly enjoyed. I feel like the movie was done well and each character was excellent. Let me just say, I would not want to run into Bane in a dark ally (Tom Hardy does a great job), that's for sure. I know there are people who see the movie because they are loyal Batman followers, for those who are not and are just going to appease a friend, family member, loved one, or just need something to do I think they will find themselves pleasantly surprised.