In a few short days, The Dark Knight Rises will open in theaters. This is an event that you are either 1) anticipating or 2) in need of a wake up call so you can anticipate it.
I’ve spoken before about what Christopher Nolan’s Batman represents on a universal, artistic level. He is mysterious. He is virtuous. He is conflicted. But most importantly, he is more than a hero. He has willingly taken the fall for a crime he didn’t commit for the good of a city he loves. He has stared into the eyes of chaos and battled against it, despite misgivings about himself. And now he is back to show us an ending we can’t imagine.
Not yet.
Christopher Nolan has shown us that movies can be something more than entertainment or dry educational material. He has shown us that stories can portray truths we didn’t know we knew. He has shown us characters that highlight realities we had never thought about. Now, he’s about to end this story in a fashion only he and his brother, Jonathan, could create.
If you haven’t done so already, I’d encourage you to watch both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight in preparation for The Dark Knight Rises. I’d also suggest watching the 13 minute video of the cast and crew explaining some basic directions of the movie. It gave me such an awe and respect for the process of creating this movie, that I just shook my head in amazement.
I gave a seminar last weekend at Lifest about the gospel implications of Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies and I would go into more details here, but it’d take a ton of space, haha. Suffice it to say that there are many aspects of the gospel that can be seen in The Dark Knight and I expect to see some gospel implications in this new installment as well.
I will be seeing The Dark Knight Rises at the midnight showing on Thursday night in Seattle. Where will you be?
