Wow.

I mean, wow.

It’s dark (um, hence the name?). It follows the tradition of trilogies in the second movie being darker. But I think these interpretations of Batman (meaning Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) are darker. And I think that makes them better. They dig deeper. To be honest, I was never a fan of Batman before Christian Bale and the Nolan Brothers. Bale and the Nolan Brothers have redeemed the Batman story for me. (In fact, seeing Christian Bale’s in the new Terminator movie–a set of movies that I could take or leave–I wonder if he’ll even redeem Terminator for me.)

In The Dark Knight, Batman matures. He’s faced with the question of what it means to be Gotham’s hero and is he willing to do that. Bruce Wayne grapples with his limits and Batman’s limits. What’s interesting is that the Joker presents this question for bad and Gordon presents this question for good. Neither times is the answer appealing, and this is Batman’s struggle.

On to the Joker. Can I say wow again? Heath Ledger did an amazing job and fully deserves a posthumous Oscar for this role. I have to admit, the first time Heath appeared on screen, it was sad. I felt hurt for this man and his family. Ledger dives into this role of a man who delights in evil not because of what he gets out of it but purely because of what he strips from others. He is chaos. He brings people to their lowest possible place. He pushes them. He wants to see the corruptness in them explode.

This is one of the best portraits of Satan I’ve seen.

There were surprises in this movie, things I didn’t expect but realized there was no other way. It’s how it had to be. The movie weakened in the end a bit but remained overall strong and amazing.

It raised some interesting questions (there are spoilers from this point forward):

What is nature of being human?

There is a corruptness yet a presence of good (what I call the Imago Dei). What’s more, this Imago Dei finds itself in unexpected sources (i.e. the prisoner), and the best of humanity (i.e. Harvey Dent) can be corrupted to he point of no return (or, as the movie foreshadowed in the beginning, he lived long enough to become a villian). The choices we make every day contribute to one side or the other. Will we fight in a way that is good or will we allow the circumstances in our lives, the evil surrounding us, to influence us and fight back in a way that is corrupt.

(Side note: like the first movie, this movie continues the thread, "Is it okay to fight injustice with unjust ways?")

What is the nature of Satan?

He is the chaos creator. His goal is to bring out the worst in people, to turn them against good (i.e. pure good = God), to watch the world burn (as Alfred put it). He desires to draw out the corrupt nature in humanity. He is deceiver (note that the Joker’s stories about his scars are all lies; he lies to the mafia to get them to do what he wants; he lies to Batman).

What does it mean to be a hero?

(And stop singing, "I need a hero!") At the core of this is Gordon’s statement that Batman isn’t who the people want but who they need.

Batman as a Christ-figure: he took on our afflictions. What does it mean when the movie claims that we need more than truth? Do I agree with this or not? On the one hand, Christ is the Truth, and how can we need more than that? But let me argue something: what is truth other than we deserve to die and Christ did not? Yet we got more. We got mercy and truth. We got mercy becoming truth.

Batman as a model for us: we can’t seek to be popular or trendy. We must seek to give what people need. I mean this in all its forms. We are Christ’s body, his physical presence in the world. Through us, Christ transforms culture and redeems humans. As heroes, then, doing what is needed but not wanted includes evangelising, shepherding, living creatively, creating art that does not follow trends but transforms culture. Does this mean that we may do what is unpopular in the world’s eyes and in the eyes of fellow Christians?

There’s also the "white knight" approach of Harvey Dent. Which is needed? How do we fight injustice? Are both Batman and the Harvey Dent type appropriate and can they work together?

What is the nature and object of faith?

Here’s where I had a problem with the movie’s theology. In order to keep the people’s faith and hope (for all of you with George Michael now singing in your heads, I’ll give you a moment…), Gordon and Batman choose to present a false Harvey Dent (or a limited, one-sided, pre-two-faced Harvey at best). They choose to hide his "ugly side." This, at its core, is a false hope. It hides the ugly nature of humanity in favor of its good side only. It’s an unreal optimism. And it denies the need of an outside Redeemer because of corruptness in the Imago Dei.

On the other hand–the object of faith is good. While the movie argues that this good is in humanity (and to a certain extent I believe there is good in humanity because of the Imago Dei), it also shows that Batman (an outside Redeemer–and yet one of them), is needed if Gotham is ultimately to be saved. I believe that ultimate good is in God and that a salvific faith comes from him alone.

To me, this movie ended at Good Friday. I look forward to the Resurrection in the third movie. 

Updated: You can find other reviews at Christianity Today, C. Orthodoxy, Looking Closer, and Filmchat.