The Dark Knight Rises

Crazy gunman aside, we decided to brave the theater for my birthday and take our chances that our children are, indeed, old enough to be home by themselves for a couple of hours without destroying each other or the house.

We didn't get injured at the theater AND we came home to happy kids and an intact house.

The movie?  Not my favorite of the trilogy.  But, here are some thoughts:

1.  Christian Bale is still hot.
But I think Anne Hathaway smoked him on screen in the hotness category (gentlemen from the audience, do I get a HELLS YA on that point?).  That chick can wear red lipstick like no body's business.

2.  The story line smacked of "current headlines", ala 99% vs. 1%.
An open comment on that:  IF I pay money to attend a movie that I KNOW has political undertones* then I won't feel irritated by said political nonsense because I got what I paid to watch.

HOWEVER, if I am coming to a movie featuring a fictional, comic book hero as the lead character, I want the following:  serious butt whooping, actors/actresses so fit in their costumes that I feel the urge to leave the theater and exercise until my legs fall off, and an ending where the bad guys fall/good guy wins.  I DON'T want a lecture on the political viewpoint of the writers/producer/director woven into the script because that's NOT why I came to the movie.

Just a minor hint for the next wave of superhero movies...and for comic book writers everywhere.

3.  Where, oh where, was my trailer for the next superhero movie?
The movie clocked in at almost three hours.  It was Titanic in nature.  And then we sat in the theater an additional 5 minutes, through every, single credit, waiting for what's next.

I mean, come on Hollywood.  You've created Pavlovian dogs of us.  We get sneaks at the end of just about every single movie that features a comic book hero.  But not at the end of the trilogy?  HUH?
This is tantamount to reading an entire book, the author alluding to a future adventure for one of the characters, and realizing the last page is ripped out, the very page where you find out what is going to happen.  So.not.right. 

Clearly there is a spin off to another movie (spoiler:  ROBIN, where art thou?) but I guess they haven't started filming it yet.
 
Spoiler #2:  Will Christian Bale return to mentor Robin?  (Please, please, please?!?!?!)  Will it hit theaters in 2013?  Who else might be starring?  What other comic characters will be resurrected?  THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME.

So, overall, 8 out of 10 pinkies up. 
Great action.
Overall great story, less the political junk.
Amazing CGI and action.
Bane is the new Vader.

*or, in this case, overtones.