Trailer Tuesdays: Exodus – Gods and Kings

“There is something coming that is out of my control.”

The Dark Knight Rises & Final Thoughts on the Summer

Well, summer is over. School has started back, for most, and the tone at the local box office has changed. I believe this was a pretty good summer for films. The Avengers avenged, Spidey was back in action, The Dark Knight saved Gotham again, and the Bourne series birthed a new hero. However, which film was the best of the summer? One might easily look to the numbers and say, ‘The Avengers’, however, that’s not necessarily a fair comparison. For one, TDKR wasn’t released in 3D (hooray for Nolan!), which greatly decreased the monetary return, plus, should money determine the best film?

In my opinion, summer is about blockbusters (no offense to Moonlight Kingdom) and that brings us to two, The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. And I really really enjoyed TheAvengers, but have to pick The Dark Knight Rises as the best film of the summer. In a sense, comparing these two is sort of like comparing apples and oranges. Yes they’re both blockbusters and they’re both superhero films, however, we are comparing the first installment of a film with a third. When The Avengers 3 comes out, then we can compare the two. Plus, TA has the advantage of using the various individual stories, like Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and The Hulk, to assist in character development. That being said, I go with Batman, and, as promised, here is one more theme I enjoyed from TDKR and some closing thoughts on the franchise.

(As always…SPOILERS).

One More Parallel

I mentioned one theme I enjoyed in an earlier post, and a second was the theme of resurrection. After Bane took the formerly reclusive Batman out to the wood shed and broke his back, Batman is then locked in a pit for a time. Even though it seems that our hero may be confined to this sort of prison for good, he eventually rises. After regaining a great deal of strength and returning to his heroic self, Bruce Wayne appears to be ready for battle. But, he continues to fall short until he exercises a great deal of faith to climb out of the pit.

I couldn’t help but think of the resurrection of Christ while watching this. As always, any earthly parallel falls short of Christ, but there are similarities. Jesus Christ, too, seemed to be defeated and locked in a pit (the grave) for a time. He, however, rose victoriously conquering the grave, giving his children the boldness to ask of death, “Where is your victory? Where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:55)

I once heard John Piper comment on Christ’s death on the cross as Satan committing suicide. Satan knew what His death meant. The death of death and corruption for all time. Was this not also true of Bane? His severe beating of Batman only aided in Batman’s resurrection and, eventually, defeat of Bane.

Some Final Thoughts on the Batman Trilogy

It wasn’t too long ago when my father and I attended The Return of the King with several other friends. As the film ended, my father remarked, “It’s kind of sad that it’s over.” There was a sense in which we didn’t want an end to Frodo’s journey’s. Although different, a similar feeling occurred as I sat to watch, The Dark Knight Rises. Before the film even began, I didn’t want it to end. There was an anticipation for the lights to go down in the cinema, but I knew that meant the end of a great story. But isn’t that always the case? We don’t want good stories to end. Why is that?

Some of you may have read Christopher Nolan’s farewell letter to Batman. It was excellent and he’s illustrating this deep truth without even knowing it. Read an excerpt below (This forward appears in the book, The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Rises Trilogy):

Alfred. Gordon. Lucius. Bruce . . . Wayne. Names that have come to mean so much to me. Today, I’m three weeks from saying a final good-bye to these characters and their world. It’s my son’s ninth birthday. He was born as the Tumbler was being glued together in my garage from random parts of model kits. Much time, many changes…Michael, Morgan, Gary, Cillian, Liam, Heath, Christian . . . Bale. Names that have come to mean so much to me. My time in Gotham, looking after one of the greatest and most enduring figures in pop culture, has been the most challenging and rewarding experience a filmmaker could hope for. I will miss the Batman. I like to think that he’ll miss me, but he’s never been particularly sentimental.

The conclusion of The Dark Knight trilogy was obviously bittersweet for Nolan, and it should be. You see, we don’t want good stories to end, because the best story never ends. God’s story will last for an eternity for those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Enjoying a good story and not wanting it to end is simply illustrating the fact that we were created for an eternity. I can’t wait to see and enjoy that story more fully!

The Dark Knight Rises

Hype for The Dark Knight Rises began when the credits rolled for its predecessor, The Dark Knight. Critics and fans agreed that The Dark Knight was not only the best comic book movie ever made, but one of the greatest sequels for any genre of film. It has been the most anticipated film of 2012 and already has the record for a midnight showing (I think).

The success of this film, without a doubt, played a factor in director Christopher Nolan’s recent hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It looks like it is on its way to shattering many more records at the box office, however, the question is, did it live up to the hype? Yes!

My mind is still processing the two hours and forty-five minutes of Bat-action, but it was a well done film and a great ending to the series. While I have some criticisms and disappointments, I really enjoyed it. Check out some random comments/thoughts below, as well as, a theme I enjoyed. I hope to have a second post up on another theme as well – THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.

Bane: I was a bit disappointed with this character. I really like Tom Hardy and his acting, but had high hopes for this villain, especially after the Joker. You can’t beat the Joker. Overall Bane was okay, but won’t be viewed as a timeless villain.

The Joker: Christopher Nolan is such an excellent writer/director, I had hoped he would mention something about the Joker in this film. Maybe this was out of respect for the passing of Heath Ledger, but I felt that they could have given this character some closure in the last film.

Catwoman: Selina Kyle/Catwoman didn’t bother me that much. I didn’t see Ann Hathaway pulling this character off, but she did a good job. She provided some great scenes and was able to fight well in high heels.

John Blake: I really liked this character a lot. Joseph Gordon-Levitt seems to be an up-and-coming actor and I’ve really enjoyed his other roles. (In case you didn’t mind the spoiler warning, you might want to) I also wasn’t bothered that he was Robin. I thought I would hate Robin and laughed at the idea of bringing Robin into the films, but I think Levitt could pull it off. Some of that will be contingent on the costume. We also need to realize that Robin is part of the Batman series and accept him.

The Ending: I really liked the ending. Like I said, the film was a bit different from what I thought it would be and it was slow at some parts, but the ending switched it into high gear pretty fast. I liked the closure they gave between Alfred and Bruce, as well as, the great action sequences with Batman’s newest toy ‘The Bat’.

One theme I enjoyed came from one of the film’s most emotional scenes. However, I must digress a bit in order to discuss. One aspect that bothered me about The Dark Knight was the constant concealing of the truth. Batman’s true identity was concealed, so was Harvey Dent’s, and Alfred burns the letter from Rachel Dawes – there may have been a few other moments of concealed truth. However, The Dark Knight Rises brings the truth to the surface, which is another aspect of the film I enjoyed.

Not only does TDKR bring the truth to the surface, it also shows the effects of concealing the truth. The powerful scene between Alfred and Bruce is Alfred’s confession to destroying the letter from Rachel. Alfred knows the truth of this letter will destroy Bruce, but he also knows this truth can bring him life. He also knows that the truth will most likely destroy their relationship, one that Alfred had since Bruce’s birth, but is willing to sacrifice that if it means it will save his life.

This made me think about the Truth of the gospel. There have been many times in my life when I knew speaking the truth in love meant making people angry. I have lost friends in my life and moved people to hate me, because I knew the truth must be revealed. I guess that’s why this scene resonated with me.

The truth is a powerful thing. And when we speak about the ultimate Truth of the gospel, it’s an offensive thing, it always will be. And I’m convicted that far too often I protect my relationships with people by avoiding the disclosure of Truth. In other words, I don’t show true love to people.

Alfred showed that he truly loved Bruce by his willingness to sacrifice their relationship in order to speak the truth. We must follow that example. Each of us currently have people in our lives who don’t know the Truth of the gospel. Why aren’t we telling it to them? What’s the fear that’s keeping us from doing so? Let’s lay this earthly life on the altar in order that those we love may know the life that’s truly life.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [John 14:6]

The Prestige: Rivalry is No Fun and Games

ri-val-ry (n). Competition for the same objective or for superiority in the same field. 

This one words sums up the entire plotline of the 2006 movie, The Prestige.  With apologies to my wife, Martie (she didn’t care for the movie at all–too sci-fi for her), I thought Christopher Nolan’s film was a masterpiece when we saw it in the theater.  Now, after viewing some of Nolan’s other films (Memento, Inception, and The Dark Knight), I’m even more convinced that The Prestige is one of the best stories about RIVALRY ever told.  It accurately portrays the total destructive nature of competition run amok.

The Prestige tells the story of two magicians, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), and their rise to popularity in 19th century London.  For you youngsters out there: before there were movies, television, and video games, people were enthralled with magic shows and other carnival-style theatrics.  Angier and Borden begin their careers working for the same magician as simple audience-plants for his tricks.  After a death-defying stunt goes horribly bad, Angier and Bale are transformed into the sort of rivals that long for nothing else in life but to destroy each other.

The Prestige is such a good movie that I’m not going to give the rest of the story away.  You need to put this on your rental list.  It would lead to some fabulous discussion–especially with the teenager(s) in your home.  It is a tragedy that will remind you of a Shakespeare play.  The last thing concerning the plot that I will tell you is that these rivals not only destroy each other, but they truly lose themselves in this career-long battle.

After watching this film, I have no doubt that you will be shaking your head over the horrible consequences of extreme, obsessive rivalry.  So, this begs the following cluster of questions:  Is rivalry a Christian behavior?  Is it something inevitable in a fallen world?  What should the Christian response to it be?

To answer these interconnected questions, we have to understand that rivalry has existed since the beginning of time.  Cain treated his brother Abel as his rival, which led to murder.  Rachel and Leah were rivals for Jacob’s love (and for his children).  Before giving birth to Samuel, Hannah was tormented by her rival as well.  Even Joseph’s brother’s treated him as a death-deserving rival for their father’s affection.  Certainly, all of these (and many other) Scriptural examples of rivalry were fueled by sinful envy and jealousy.  None of these situations ended well, nor glorified God!  Why is that?  The Bible gives us the answer in James 4:

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.  (James 4:1-2).

So, because of the fall and our sinful hearts, rivalry is inevitable–it will always be with us.

If rivalry will always be with us on this life, are Christians to handle it differently than the world?  Jesus Himself instructed His disciples to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-44) in a world that trains us to hate them.  This command, coupled with various New Testament commands to love, forgive, show kindness, etc., presents the paradigm for the Christian’s handling of rivals.  Quite simply, we are to be counter-cultural, refusing to sinfully compete with those who are positioning themselves as our enemies.  We are to trust God to provide for us rather than feel compelled to fight for everything we want.

Now let me add one complicating factor.  How do we properly respond to rivalries when we are typically trained from childhood to both become rivals as well as live in routine bitterness towards our rivals?  Playful childhood games quickly degenerate into cutthroat battles.  In our elementary, middle, and high schools, we learn to hate our crosstown rivals as we pitch battle in every sport.  Our favorite college or university (typically a parent’s alma mater) becomes our favorite sports team, so we grow to hate its natural rival.  Basically, our sports-saturated culture teaches us to love our teams and absolutely hate all opposing teams (and by extension, its players, fans, cheerleaders, band, faculty, maintenance crew, etc.).  How in the world can this lifelong cultural training lead us to a Christian response to rivalry?

I know what you’re thinking…c’mon John, there’s nothing wrong with “friendly” rivalries (an oxymoron, if there ever was one)–it’s just harmless fun!  Maybe.  But if these are just fun and games, why do they so deeply affect our moods, attitudes, and behavior towards people who cheer for the other team?  Maybe we can disconnect the world of “fantasy” rivalry from the real world where we are called to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.  But maybe not.  As you watch The Prestige, and witness the destructive power of rivalries, engage your Christian mind and think about it.