Keeping your relationship fresh is important when you’ve got kids, isn’t it?
But when my husband suggested a night in with a man in rubber, I choked on my cup of tea.
Because in truth, although we try to have regular date nights, the closest we get to saucy is curly chips. My mind began to spin. He had been eating a lot of stilton cheese recently …
Anyway, before I could splutter any kind of response, a DVD was pushed into my hand.  The Dark Knight Rises.
Batman. Of course.
My husband is passionate about Batman and has been patiently waiting for the latest and last of British filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy.
It has finally been released on DVD, but could it be bigger, bolder and better than the other Batman films before it? And not being a fan, would I enjoy it too?
When date night arrived I sat with a large glass of red, fearful that I would need to swap it for the remainder of the bottle and a straw. (note: I drink responsibly – I never spill any!). But I didn’t need to worry.
The Dark Knight Rises is a loud, energetic explosion of a film – just what you’d expect of a mega blockbuster these days – and it has heart too.
This is not simply the story of a superhero. It is about a man who suffered a major trauma as a child when his parents were murdered, and who has been raised with a rage he cannot quench.
The film asks probing questions like: Can you redeem without sacrifice? Can revenge bring peace? What the bloody hell is the villain, Bane, saying?
It is the emergence of Bane, a mumbling masked terrorist, that draws Batman from his self-imposed exile.
When the film begins 8 years have passed since his last public appearance and he now hobbles around his huge mansion on a stick, less the playboy billionaire than a frail recluse.
He can’t even be bothered to put up a fight when he is burgled by the super slinky Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, played superbly by Anne Hathaway (and now currently getting rave reviews for Les Miserables)
The authorities think Batman is “a thug in a cape”, blaming him for the death of Harvey Dent, the crusading District Attorney who supposedly made Gotham City safe from crime.
Only world-weary Police Commissioner Gordon knows the truth – that it was Batman who saved the day back then.
When the brute bulk of Bane arrives things don’t look good for Batman, with his armoured suit unable to disguise a relative physical frailty. So much for rubber!
Although far too dark for anyone younger than the recommended 12 years, this film has energy, ambition and spectacle. There are amazing special effects, the story is punchy and it ends in a thrilling climax.
My husband loved it, and even I was drawn into the cleverly-told tale. I might even let him choose the movie for our next date night.
Or if you could suggest a movie that would make both me and him happy, I’d love to hear it.
If you’d like to have a date night with a blast, you can buy The Dark Knight Rises from Amazon.
The post A night in with a man in rubber appeared first on .