Batman has stepped up his war on the big criminals of Gotham City as The Dark Knight opens, and he seems to be winning. Also in town is Harvey Dent the DA who is the white knight to Bruce Waynes Dark knight - he is the hero that Gotham really needs.

But then the Joker emerges from the dark underbelly of Gotham, an evil genius who has no morality, who enjoys inflicting pain, who backstabs as quickly and readily as he breathes and who promises to get rid of Batman. The titanic battle is set the only question is how much and who will be the collateral damage. But the bigger battle is going on within Bruce himself as he looks to give up being the bat, as he sees that Harvey Dent who will take on crime legally and out in the open is the hero Gotham needs.

But the Jokers materpiece is that he destroys Harvey Dent, leaving him facially disfigured and emotionlly crippled and twisted by the death fo his fiance Rachel - also Bruce's love. Dent's rage turns on the system and Batman that failed them both. And it is ultimately this that gives the film is dark edge, the hero is crushed and out of the rubble emerges a man twisted by grief and loss into evil. Dent - now Two Face - is the man without his inhibitions, with nothing to stop him, he now is just like Joker wanting to watch the world burn.

It is a poignant and thought provoking move, is that what we would all be like with the brakes taken off, if we no longer cared what others thought, no longer hoped the system would work, if all reserved and respect were removed would we be any different. Dent simply gives rise to what is in all of us of which we give occassional glimpse that desire to have the world we want, ruled as we see fit and our fury and anger that result when we are confronted with our inability to make the world like that.

The film ends with Dent dead but Batman covering up for his failure, with Commissioner Gordon told by Bruce to blame it on Batman because Gotham needs the white knight of Harvey Dent to be just that even in death. To tell them the truth would destroy hope. The film ends bleakly with Batman an outcast to provide the hope Gotham needs.

We all need hope, but we also need the truth, not any truth but the real truth. Jesus comes to tell us the truth, to reveal to us that our problems are not just when we allow ourselves to rage against the world, but are actually that desire to rule the world our way which is never fulfilled. He comes to bring hope and the truth, not to clear up crime but to deal with the real problem our rebellion against God.

Christianity & Culture