I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.
Ulysses S. Grant
The Dark Knight Rises
Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises opens eight years after the events of The Dark Knight. Physically and emotionally scarred from his fight with the Joker and the loss of Rachel Dawes, Bruce Wayne has retreated into hiding. His body has deteriorated and Wayne Enterprises stands upon ruin. Meanwhile, under the Dent Act–which vaguely sounds like the Patriot Act–, Gotham is experiencing a renaissance. A past nemesis lurks in the shadows though, and Bruce Wayne/Batman are in no condition to fight.
The premise of The Dark Knight Rises is fantastic; the execution, not so much.There are so many ideas, characters, and plot lines going on that Nolan either needed to make the movie into a television mini-series or into several separate films. I find this overstuffed baked potato odd seeing that Christopher Nolan is a master of editing (see Memento).
I was disappointed by plot inconsistencies/actions not true to characters/magical moments:
- In one scene we are told that Bruce’s body is destroyed, that he has no cartilage in his knees or elbows. The next thing we are introduced to is a magical knee brace. Good thing that fixes everything else too. Wonder if they sell one of those on Amazon?
- Alfred letting Bruce mope for 8 years and then dropping a bomb on Bruce that Rachel didn’t want to be with him. Huh?
- Alfred leaving. I’m not going to say anymore. About as true to character as Superman killing someone. Oh wait…
- Does anyone really think that Bruce Wayne would have allowed Wayne Enterprises to tank? After all the preaching on responsibility and taking care of Gotham in Batman Begins, I have a hard time with Bruce letting his company go.
- Lucious Fox. Why didn’t the Wayne Enterprises Board fire Lucious? If the company is running into the ground, changes are needed from the top down. Send the man back to R&D.
- How did Bruce magically appear in Gotham at the end? He called his friend Harry Potter.
Overall, The Dark Knight Rises lacks focus just as Spiderman 3 did. Too many characters, plots/subplots, and loose editing ultimately kill a film I desperately wanted to enjoy.
Passion
I am passionate about:
- Solid Bible teaching. I want to see fellow Christians challenged in their faith straight from the Bible.
- Keeping the focus solely on the Gospel and not on personal preferences.
- The videogames industry being influenced with the love of Christ. I’m still not sure what this looks like, whether it includes handing out beer and Bibles, but I’m always processing this one. Currently I am exploring starting a GameCell at my church.
- Helping others avoid the same mistakes that the Internet helped me make. I want parents to be aware of the parental controls on their children’s devices; I want individuals to take preventative steps to protect themselves from the wild west of the Internet.
- Blogging. Yeah, you wouldn’t know it from my posting frequency, but I have always enjoyed sharing my life and what I’m learning with you. I love writing and it is not something I allow myself the time to do enough.
Working the 8-5 grind, I often get lulled into patterns that prevent me from focusing on my passions. This walking dead-like slumber causes me to forget how much I love my wife and son and how blessed I am to have them in my life. I am noticing that it is only through being intentional with what I consume media-wise/what I do daily that I am able to overcome this personal apathy.
So what about you? What are you passionate about?
Off Campus: Bryan is over at Theology Gaming today. Come visit!
“After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure” ~ J.K. Rowling
Every story has to have an inciting incident. A moment that propels the protagonist to respond with action. No matter the greatness of the action however, forward motion is key. Click here to read more
What I’m Learning: As A Dad
Since my son was old enough to hold a controller, I have shared my love of videogames with him.
We started with Super Mario Bros. on the family NES. Since then, we have progressed from him passively watching to now actively participating in playing games such as Skylanders and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. At four years old, my son loves videogames and is quite good at them–humble dad brag–.
Screen time, which encompasses the iPad, TV shows, and videogames, has become a hot commodity in our house. If my son had his way, he would never unplug and instead become a digital potato. Not just any potato mind you, a stinky potato.
My struggle as a parent is to balance “screen time” with all of the imaginative play that awaits in my son’s toy box. Hot Wheels, super hero masks, and Legos are but simple gateways to pretend worlds of adventure. Sharing my love of videogames, with my son, has caused him to associate “daddy time” with “time to play videogames”. On the deepest, nerdiest level, I should be proud of this but I’m not. I want more for my son than just virtual worlds. On a selfish level, I want more for myself than to have to spend “precious” game time playing in some sort of G-rated world.
Here is what I am learning though: Videogame time with dad has nothing to do with what videogame is being played or whether or not my son has a controller in his hands. All that matters, ALL THAT MATTERS, is that the two of us are spending time together. If that means that he sits on my lap and watches me play, he is fine with that. He just wants to spend some time with his dad.
JohnnyBGamer 