I just saw The Dark Knight for the third time, and this movie continues to blow me away. I think the third viewing was better than the second, but not as good as the first. This time though, the end made me think even deeper. I love how Batman has to take on the burden of being despised by the very people he works to help. It is a very Christ-like sacrifice on his part. "He was despised and rejected by men" (Isaiah 53:3). Batman is not the hero Gotham wants; he is the guardian and protector it needs. Jesus takes on the burden of giving us what we need--salvation and reconciliation with God, but maybe not necessarily what we want. This is the sacrifice of a hero who knows the people/city he loves better than they do.
I also love how the plot reveals the fallibility not of Good, but of good people. The fall of Harvey Dent really shows how weak even the strongest and best of us can be. But real Good still stands infallible in the character of Batman, who refuses to be corrupted or put down. It shows that Good vs. Evil is not always so simple a battle. In TDK it ends with Good winning out (barely) but being persecuted for it.
If you want to read a great Christian philosophical review of TDK, Greg Boyd has done a great one at his blog which you can find here.
Hey I noticed you were a blogger - blogger too. You probably know me from Scribd. Just wanted to say, I saw Batman 3 times too. I also loved the movie, I thought it has some good points. But also noticed a quite strong political commentary - that I did not necessarily agree with.
ReplyDelete(my review -
http://mschellman.blogspot.com/search?q=Batman)
I'd like to stop back another time and read some more of your blog.
Grace and Peace,
Mike