The Dark Knight - A Christian Movie?

There are reviews of "The Dark Knight" floating around the internet that suggest that the movie has an underlying Christian theme. I'd like to talk about that for a few seconds.

PLEASE NOTE: Before you read any further, I will be spoiling a few things about the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, you've been warned.

For the four people on the planet who don't know what I'm talking about, "The Dark Knight" is the sequel to the incredibly popular "Batman Begins" movie from a few years ago. "Batman Begins" is a re-imagination of the Batman tale as directed by Christopher Nolan, director of such great films as "Memento" and "The Prestige", two incredible films in their own right. Nolan takes the helm again in "TDK" and directs what will go down in history as his masterpiece.

The majority of the popularity of "TDK" - which has grossed over $400 million in its first 18 days, a feat which has never before happened - is based on Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker. Before I get to him, I should emphasize that the entire cast is incredible. I've been a Christian Bale fan since his amazing role as Patrick Bateman in the highly controversial "American Psycho". Bale once again reprises his role as Batman and does a phenomenal job. Then there's Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, an amazing character which is very well played. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Maggie Gyllenhall help round out this sensational cast. But the winner overall has to be Ledger. The late actor's take on the Joker is just plain spooky. Ledger completely loses himself in the role, so much so that you forget who's playing him. He even drops his voice an octave or so. I'd easily give him the Oscar for best actor of the year (thus far) if he wasn't dead.

So, getting to the point of this thing. The theme through the movie is that our hero has been outcast by the general public for taking the law into his own hands. He's even declared a vigilante at one point. He's mocked, scorned, and hated by most of the city. He has to go into hiding most of the time and only has a few loyal followers. And at the end of it all, after he has saved the day yet again, he chooses to sacrifice himself (in a sense) and let the city hate him. "I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be," he says at one point.

Sound like a certain Son of God to anyone else?

I'm not entirely convinced that Nolan intended to make this a Christian movie. We could even get into discussions about triumphs of good over evil and how just about any good-guy-winning movie could be interpreted as Christian.

But maybe - just maybe - there's a lesson to be learned here. Maybe we need to step back and get over ourselves every once in a while and instead of trying to be a hero, maybe we just need to be what we're needed to be.

Just some things to think about.

A final thought: Don't take your young children to see this. Please. It does get quite dark and twisted and is very graphic.

All for now.

Grace and peace,
Sean