The Bourne Legacy and the Last Sin Eater: by Pilar Stevens

I have a confession to make. I love the Bourne trilogy! My husband hates all the crazy running around but I love the whole” I don’t know who I’m but I can kill you without even trying.” I was a bit nervous that Matt Damon was not returning as Jason Bourne but much to my relief, I really enjoyed Jeremy Renner in his new role as Aaron Cross.

In this movie, the American government has yet another secret program trying to build the perfect super soldier but this time the ex-military men have an unfair advantage, chems. Chems are drugs that not only make them physically stronger but also smarter. By keeping Aaron and all the other assets on the chems, the government has total control over their every action. Do as you are told or no more meds for you!

During a flash black of a mission gone wrong, Aaron’s handler Eric Byer tells him, “It is perfectly normal for a person to have doubts about the morality of what we just asked you to do. Do you know what a sin eater is? That’s what we are. We are the sin eaters. It means that we take the moral excrement that we find in this equation and we bury it deep inside of us so that the rest of our cause can stay pure. That is the job; we are morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.” Imagine carrying that burden?

If you read my last article, you know what a sin eater is. If not take a look here.

I was quite taken by this line and almost missed the rest of the movie thinking about it. How often are the actions of the military and government portrayed in this light? How can we ask our military or anyone else for that matter to get off their “chems” and make moral decisions without the proper Biblical moral compass?

What should happen when a person’s conscience is awakened by the Holy Spirit? We, the church should be prepared with the truth of the gospel to answer these critical questions. So what am I saying? Our family, friends and neighbors should know what we believe and why we believe. We must be lovers of God’s word and theology (yes, theology does matter.) so we can point people to absolute truth. We must take our faith outside of the four walls of the church and step into the darkness. We might be mocked and ridiculed but we must be willing to push ourselves outside of our own comfort zone to reach the world for Christ. To be there for those that are drawn to the gospel and who wants to get off their chems.

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!

Wednesday’s Weekend Poll

As many of you know, a new installment from Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series is being released on Friday.  The Bourne Legacy follows the story of a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films. [IMDb]  Therefore, we wanted to know what you thought about the previous three films.  Which one, in your opinion, is the best?

Snapshots

snap·shot – a brief appraisal, summary, or profile.

Every Monday we hope to provide our readers with snapshots of films being released for the upcoming weekend. This will be a brief summary of films that will assist our readers in the area of discernment. Instead of searching other sites and reading lengthy articles, it’s our hope to provide a concise list of all the films of the weekend in one consolidated post. If you wonder why we don’t list the MPAA ratings, please click here.

The Bourne Legacy – An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum’s novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films [IMDb]. Genre – action, drama, thriller; content – violence.

The Campaign – Two CEO’s, seeking to gain influence in their district, find a naive candidate to oust a long-term congressman. Genre – comedy’ content – language, brief nudity, and crude sexual content.

2 Days in New York – A couple’s family dynamic is rocked when relatives come to visit. Genre – comedy; content – language, brief nudity, sexual content and drug use.

Wednesday’s Weekend Poll

The summer seems to be over just as soon as it begins!  It’s hard to believe that we’re already in July (Happy 4th BTW), which means we’re basically half-way through our summer movie blockbusters.  It’s strange to think about all the hype that surrounds most of these films, and now many of them have been viewed and will quickly be forgotten.  Even though many may be forgotten, this summer hasn’t been all that bad – nothing can compare to the summer films released in 2001…just terrible!  Even though many of us still await the release of The Dark Knight Rises and The Bourne Legacy, which movie has been the best thus far?  Let us hear from you.

Wednesday’s Weekend Poll

The beginning of the summer blockbusters starts this weekend with the release of The Avengers.  There are many anticipated films this summer and some of them actually have the potential to be a bit more than the typical fare that frequents our cinemas in the summer.  There is some early Oscar buzz surrounding the release of The Dark Knight Rises, since it was snubbed for a best picture nomination back in 2008.  Even if this summer ends up as a disappointment, which film are you most anticipating?  Take a second and let us hear from you below: