IRON MAN VS. THE DARK KNIGHT: THE BETTER MOVIE?

IRON MAN AND THE DARK KNIGHT:

RATING SUMMER'S TWO BIG BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

IRON MAN GETS A RATING OF:

THE DARK KNIGHT GETS A RATING OF:

 

 

Easily two of the best movies of the year, both these comic book adaptations portray a less than perfect hero.  Indeed, one could say redemption became a much more distinct possibility for both Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) once they were able to embrace their true destinies.  What makes the new Batman movie more superior to Iron Man is, first,  that it continues the character development of the hero, and, second, that it deals much more deeply with the problem of good vs. evil.

Iron Man is an origins movie.  We get to see Tony Stark at his worst and most debauched.  Robert Downey, Jr. (seemingly type cast) is a perfect fit for the billionaire playboy genius.  Once Stark faces his own mortality and gets an up close look at the violence he is helping to perpetrate on the world, a conversion experience begins.  This is not a particularly deep movie, but it has great heart and hope.  It eschews violence for violence's sake without being anti-American and it points out that wealth can never be the vehicle of salvation--only a noble heart can.  The physical heart of Tony Stark has to be mortally wounded before there is room for compassion and ultimately heroism.  This is a fine, enjoyable movie with good values.

THE DARK KNIGHT is another story.  If Heath Ledger gets an Oscar, it will not be a sympathy vote for an actor who died tragically young; instead, it will award truly magical talent.  Mr. Ledger gives a tour de force performance of evil incarnate--without a plan, without logic, without any reason whatsoever except that chaos is infinitely preferable to order and love.  As the Joker, Mr. Ledger creates a truly terrifying character, the original bogeyman, who tempts the hero much like Satan would.  His is an entirely believable character, and it is haunting to know that the young actor was troubled by the residual effects of his performance upon his own psyche.

Bruce Wayne, like Tony Stark, is very flawed.  He has his own demons to wrestle with, and sometimes, they merge with his ideals and hopes.  The Batman is supposed to make a difference, but the Joker causes all his heroism to lead to the death of innocents.  It makes  the Batman question his own morality, goals and destiny.  Interestingly, the hope he hangs onto is a love for human life.  Even the Joker's life is sacrosanct.  And it is the Batman's decision not to be the ultimate judge and jury that gives him the ability to sacrifice his reputation and honor  by taking on the sins of another for the good of Gotham City.  As Commissioner Gordon (brilliantly played by Gary Oldman) says:  Gotham gets the hero they want (namely the dead Harvey Dent/Two Face who fell from heroic prosecutor to vengeful murderer) rather than the hero they need--the Batman, who now must prowl the shadows seen by the public as a villain and outcast.

Christian Bale has created a Batman that is dark, but ultimately noble.  He is an anti-hero to some extent, tormented by doubts and the fear that his own pride will make him become like Two Face.  What keeps his vision clear, even in the dark night of his own soul, is his refusal of pride, his disdain of vainglory, and his humility.  He is a servant of the Good, not the Good itself.  One wonders if the writers know St. John of the Cross and his concept of the Dark Night of the Soul in which a person must endure terrible spirtual suffering marked by darkness and spiritual death to self in order to see the Light of Christ.  The movie really does resemble a cinematic portrayal of such a spiritual journey.

Highly recommended for its morality, the movie rescues itself from nihilism by showing the inherent goodness of humanity, even if its members are sometimes selfish.  Watching this film, it was easy to see that one of its messages is that there is a hero inside all of us, just as there is a doorway to the evil the Joker represented.  The scales weigh heavier on the side of good, and that is why THE DARK KNIGHT is a masterpiece--the greatest superhero film of all time.

Comments

[wolfgang thunderdust]

I thought Iron Man was equally as good as The Dark Knight. It still showed the struggle between good and evil even though Iron Man only showed the roots of his story, but I do believe the sequl will be a stronger movie than the Dark Knight. A stronger message. I being an actor myself, found Ledger as the Joker to be truley amazing. Keep us updated on any comic superheros coming our way.....Any word on smalleville?????

[bob]

dark night and iron man were both 2 of some of the best 2008 movies, but dark night had an edge. I say watch both and by the DVDs and get of on ur iPod;)