Growing up, I remember the Batman and Robin TV show from the 1960's, and I assumed that the Dark Knight movies would be along the same lines. Boy, was I wrong!!!
Really? Really. The casting of Christian Bale...having Nolan direct...all the pre-release info/trailers/marketing...It amazes me how anyone could think that studios are going to spend over $180 million making a Batman movie that in ANY way REMOTELY resembles the absurd 1960s Batman TV show. The 60s Batman (and subsequent influence of the comics for a few years) was a bizarre, juvenile tangent on its treatment of the character to begin with. Originally, Batman carried a gun and occasionally did away with the bad guy. After the 60s nonsense, the 70s saw Batman return to his original darker character where it has pretty much stayed.
That said, the movie was violent, much more so than Batman Begins, and I thought should have gotten an R rating.
What happened to the days when a person or family could go to see a movie like Superman, etc
Batman is an entirely different character than Superman! Where Superman embodies and represents the best humanity can aspire to be, Batman represents the shadows, the darkness, the revenge, the manic drive to rid his city of criminals. ITS WHY HE DRESSES AS A BAT.