4:17 AM

The Dark Knight

if you weren't planning on seeing it, i probably wouldn't encourage you. and if you hate explosions, can't handle diagrams of the human body, or break out in hives if not every loose end is tied up perfectly (remember, heath ledger died before they could finish filming all the scenes that they'd planned, although they do a decent wrap-up if you consider that), maybe you should avoid it. it is certainly not for the faint of heart.

that said, it was AWESOME. as far as i know, the best comic book movie ever made - and i have professional comic book peeps who concur. the acting is fabulous, the visuals are fabulous, the dialogue is great. you get a number of opportunities to laugh. and, most dear to my heart of all these things, justice and goodness and self sacrifice are the victors. i loved it, to be quite simple. loved it loved it loved it.

then again, batman is my favorite superhero anyway. but that's another post.

7 comments:

Darren said...

I think I'm going to have to see that one.

So I'm having a debate with a girl in my youth group. Who do you think would win: Batman or a Jedi?
Thoughts?

Lauren said...

tough one. in which world ours, or the famed galaxy long, long ago and far, far away?

Darren said...

Seeing as how Batman lacks the force, I'll have to give him homefield advantage on this and even up the odds a little bit.

I just saw the movie, by the way (I refuse to use "btw":) ) and it was really good. Batman can really take a beating and keep on going. He's like the energizer bunny, but way cooler and less fuzzy. Heath Ledger was amazing too. But I have to believe that for him to be that good in that role, he must have been seriously tormented. I wonder what was going on in him spiritually as he made the movie and after. I agree with you too on the justice, goodness and self-sacrifice thing. It's amazing how, despite our depravity, we retain enough of the image of God that we still value these things and seek to exalt them. Even flawed heros have a sense of justice that drives them to seek good. And those who don't are the truly insane and near utter depravity.

Lauren said...

totally batman would win. although he'd need to stay away from that lightsaber unless lucius made him a special lightsaber-proof suit.

i definitely think that this venture was heath ledger's greatest performance, and i would imagine that there it affected him internally, but from what i understand he had done a lot of other things (both for the camera and privately) which haunted him terribly. i certainly wouldn't chalk his OD to this role.

i have thought quite a bit about the whole playing-bad-guys thing. and i still am conflicted about it - if you can do it without it seeping into your soul and for a greater good (like someone who plays satan in a play about the life of Jesus - does it get any worse? could the story be any more worth telling?), then i would think it's ok. as a believer, i would suggest regular pastoral counseling for a person in such a position, and maybe with a psychologist as well. just my $0.02.

i thought this film was an interesting stance against moral relativity. and that is a story worth telling. especially now.

Darren said...

You think Batman could defeat the force? Or is Christian Bale just that good looking ;) He repulses the force with his dashing good looks :)

On the serious side, I agree with you that this was definitely Heath Ledgers best performance. I couldn't really even tell it was him. And I agree that a Christian can play a villian and that it can even be sanctifying. Great care would need to be taken as you've said, but I think it adds to the depth of the story to have a believable villian, and it enhances the greatness and glory of the Gospel and the power of Christ to overcome all evil and sin and death. It would be the same (or at least reasonably close to it) as a Christian author writing a story with a well-developed bad guy in it. And in the writing, telling, and reading of it, I think we can gain an insight into the darkness and depravity of our own souls and seek the grace of God to shine the light of Christ on those areas of our lives.

You're right that the movie did serve as an argument against relativity - especially the part at the end with the boats. There is a definite right and wrong and it is known in the heart and conscience of man - whether he wants to admit it or not. Justice must be sought and evil must be punished. I enjoy your insights, it shames me that I often watch movies far too lazily without the necesary critical thought. Keep up the good work :)

Gavin Breeden said...

hey Lauren! I hope you are doing great! Wasnt this movie awesome?!?! I've already seen it twice. Loved it. And I do believe Heath had finished filming all of this role before his untimely death. Thats what I heard anyway. I think they finished shooting it last fall, just a few months before he died.

Hope your summer is going great!'

Peter said...

A Jedi would win. As much as I like Batman....actually, I like Jedi more anyway. I just don't think about them so much these days, because their movies haven't been as good, recently, as Batman's.

Which is a shame. But I think the Jedi were (in some ways) one of the best fictional imaginings of a superhero that the world has ever seen.