Holdin' Out for my Batman

I haven’t seen a Batman movie since Tim Burton’s first one in 1989, but with all the hype surrounding the Dark Knight, I wanted to give the franchise another chance. I wasn’t disappointed. I needed to go to the bathroom for the last 1.5 hours but couldn’t bring myself to leave my seat. The acting was great, the action sequences fantastic, but what appealed to me the most was how it handled the age-old good vs. evil theme with such intelligence. It invites you to think about the definitions of hero and villain and how often the two are blurred in real life. Whether someone is labeled a hero or a villain frequently boils down to public perception; a true leader has the courage to be perceived as one or the other depending on what is necessary to achieve the greater good. A few lives may have to be sacrificed to save hundreds or even thousands. Sometimes a city – or country – needs a villain to mobilize it to act against a common enemy. This is all so interesting in light of the current political situation in the world. Politicians understand how to exploit public perception, but the enlightened ones apply this knowledge for the good of the people whereas the weaker ones, fearful of losing power, apply it for personal gain.

Two of my favorite quotations from the film (may not be exact):

“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

“Perhaps both Bruce and Mr. Dent believed that Batman stands for something more potent than the whims of a terrorist Ms. Dawes. Even if everyone hates him for it, that's a sacrifice he's making. He's not being a hero. He's being something more.”