The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Related: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008)
This movie should be avoided because it involves and/or promotes profanity (at least 21 instances), blasphemy (God's name is taken in vain at least 3 times), immodesty, fornication, theft, deceit, defiance against God, and disdain for authority. Since its heroes practice sin, this movie conditions its viewers to substitute evil for good and good for evil (Isa. 5:20) by praising evildoers who ought to be despised (Ps. 15:4; Pro. 28:4).
Violations of God's Law
Defiance against God
This movie violates the First Commandment.
- Necromancy: Ra's al Ghul (died in the first film) appears and communicates with Bruce Wayne: "Did you not think I would return, Bruce? I told you I was immortal."
- Roman Catholic priest Father Reilly rounds up children to pray (as a last resort). This movie hereby esteems the Roman Catholic Church.
- At least one appeal to luck
Blasphemy and Profanity
This movie violates the Third Commandment. God has warned that he will not hold guiltless those who take his name in vain (Ex. 20:7).
- Yuppie blasphemes God
- Foley and Blake (Robin, Batman's ally) say "Jesus" in vain
- Unlawful lots – A trader flips a coin to determine if Bruce's return bodes good or bad for the stock market
- Profane references: hell (13), damn (2), among others
- Bane (antagonist) refers to himself as the devil
Disdain for Authority
This movie promotes violations of the Fifth Commandment. Those who despise government are likened to brute beasts who will be condemned (2Pe. 2:10-12; Jude 1:8-10).
- Vigilantism: as a masked vigilante, Batman defies civil authority, flees from police
- Feminism: Selina (Catwoman, Batman's ally) shown repeatedly fighting men
Immodesty and Sexual Immorality
This movie violates the Seventh Commandment. The Bible warns that those who do not repent of sexual immorality will not inherit the kingdom of God (1Co. 6:9-10), but will be judged by God (Heb. 13:4). We are commanded to "flee fornication" (1Co. 6:18).
- Miranda and Bruce are shown together in bed, portrayed as having committed fornication
- Kissing
- Selina (Anne Hathaway, unmarried) kisses Bruce (Christian Bale, married)
- Miranda (Marion Cotillard, unmarried) kisses Bruce
- Selena makes sexual innuendo about what's in Bruce's pants
- Women are showing breast cleavage, exposing legs, wearing tights
- Men are shown shirtless
Theft
This movie promotes violations of the Eighth Commandment. The Bible warns that unrepentant thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God (1Co. 6:9-10).
- Selina (Catwoman, Batman's ally) is a career thief, justifies stealing
- Selina teaches a child how to steal more effectively
Deceit
This movie promotes violations of the Ninth Commandment. The Bible warns that all liars, whom God hates (Pro. 6:16-19; 12:22), shall have their part in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8).
- Commissioner Gordon and Batman have lied to the public about Harvey Dent, whitewashing his crimes in the name of justice; all of their joint efforts to protect Gotham are "based on a lie"
- Gordon justifies lying to the public when rules in place allow the bad guy to get ahead
- Bruce deceives people to keep his alter ego secret
- Blake (Robin, Batman's ally) suggests lying to the public
- The mayor lies to the public
- Alfred confesses to burning Rachel's letter to Bruce and justifies it as sparing him pain
- Alfred describes everyone as trying to "outsmart the truth"
Sinful Content in The Dark Knight Rises
Warning! The following table contains direct quotations from the film, which include instances of blasphemy, profanity, and other vices.
| Timestamp | Classification | Character | Quote/Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:06:48 | Mayor | "Harvey Dent Day may not be our oldest public holiday, but we're here tonight because it's one of the most important." | |
| 00:08:20 | Deceit | Gordon | "I have written a speech telling the truth about Harvey Dent. Maybe the time isn't right. Maybe right now, all you need to know is that there are 1,000 inmates in Blackgate Prison as a direct result of the Dent Act. These are violent criminals, essential cogs in the organized-crime machine. Maybe, for now, all I should say about the death of Harvey Dent is this: it has not been for nothing." |
| 00:09:35 | Immodesty | Miranda | Showing cleavage |
| 00:10:45 | Foley | "But he's a hero." (referring to Gordon) | |
| 00:12:26 | Immodesty | Selina | Showing legs |
| 00:21:15 | Immodesty | Selina | Showing cleavage |
| 00:21:15 | Feminism | Selina | Fighting men |
| 00:24:43 | Immodesty | Bane | Shirtless |
| 00:31:00 | Deceit | Bruce | "The Batman wasn't needed anymore. We won." |
| 00:31:01 | Deceit | Gordon | "Based on a lie." |
| 00:31:02 | Hypocrisy | Gordon | "And now there's evil rising from where we tried to bury it." |
| 00:31:30 | Immodesty | Selina | Showing cleavage |
| 00:31:35 | Blasphemy | Yuppie | "You took my goddamn wallet, didn't you?" |
| 00:32:25 | Immodesty | Women | Immodestly dressed, showing cleavage |
| 00:35:04 | Bruce | "Is that how you justify stealing?" (speaking to Selena) | |
| 00:35:05 | Theft | Selina | "I take what I need from those who have more than enough. I don't stand on the shoulders of people with less. I think I'd do more to help someone than most of the people in this room. Than you." |
| 00:35:24 | Sexual Innuendo | Selina | "Maybe you're being unrealistic about what's really in your pants other than your wallet." |
| 00:36:00 | Sexual Immorality | Selina | Kisses Bruce |
| 00:39:59 | Profanity | Alfred | "Bane. Born and raised in hell on earth." |
| 00:41:21 | Unlawful Lots | Trader | "I flipped a coin." (this is the basis he says for his voting that Bruce's return will be bad for the stock market) |
| 00:43:40 | Profanity | Security Chief | "That stuffing in your mattress might be worth a whole hell of a lot less." |
| 00:46:08 | Profanity | Officer | "What the hell was that?" |
| 00:48:03 | Profanity | Foley | "Who do you want to catch? Some robber, or the son of a bitch who killed Harvey Dent?" |
| 00:48:18 | Vigilantism | News | "masked vigilante" |
| 00:51:28 | Promiscuity | Daggett | "And can we get some girls in here?" |
| 00:51:40 | Immodesty | Selina | Immodest, in tights |
| 00:51:41 | Feminism | Selina | Fighting men |
| 00:51:45 | Profanity | Daggett | "You dumb bitch." |
| 00:53:35 | Hypocrisy | Bruce | "No guns, no killing." |
| 00:58:20 | Infidelity | Alfred | "What if [Rachel], before she died, wrote a letter saying she chose Harvey Dent over you? And what if, to spare you pain, I burnt that letter?" |
| 00:58:24 | Hypocrisy | Alfred | "I am using the truth, Master Wayne." |
| 00:58:30 | Alfred | "Maybe it's time we all stopped trying to outsmart the truth and let it have its day?" | |
| 00:59:27 | Immodesty | Bruce | Shirtless |
| 01:03:34 | Profanity | Daggett | "How the hell did Miranda Tate get the inside track on the Wayne board?" |
| 01:03:45 | Profanity | Bane | "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear." (referring to himself) |
| 01:03:50 | Profanity | Daggett | "What the hell is going on?" |
| 01:04:53 | Daggett | "You're pure evil." (speaking to Bane) | |
| 01:04:57 | Bane | "No. I'm necessary evil." | |
| 01:05:27 | Profanity | Blake | "Well, it was damn good to see him back." |
| 01:06:15 | Deceit | Bruce | "My powerful friend might hope to change your mind about leaving." (speaking as though he's not Batman) |
| 01:08:34 | Sexual Immorality | Miranda, Bruce | Kissing |
| 01:08:57 | Sexual Immorality | Miranda, Bruce | Shown together in bed |
| 01:08:57 | Immodesty | Miranda | Covering herself with a blanket |
| 01:09:50 | Sexual Immorality | Miranda, Bruce | Kissing |
| 01:09:54 | Immodesty | Bruce | Shirtless |
| 01:18:39 | Profanity | Bane | "There's a reason why this prison is the worst hell on earth." |
| 01:21:30 | Deceit | Blake | "So it's a training exercise." (a lie either for the mayor and public, or just the public, to hide the nature of the police going into the sewers to fight Bane) |
| 01:22:55 | Profanity | Prisoner | "A child born in this hell." |
| 01:27:04 | Blasphemy | Blake | "Jesus, they're not making cement." |
| 01:27:25 | Deceit | Mayor | "It's a training exercise, that's all." (responding to a reporter who said, "We're seeing thousands of police heading into the sewers.") |
| 01:31:02 | Blasphemy | Foley | "Jesus, Blake." |
| 01:35:30 | Profanity | Captain Parker | "Now why the hell would I try to help you keep your hostages?" |
| 01:35:37 | Profanity | Mercenary | "If one person crosses this bridge, Gotham gets blown to hell." |
| 01:37:10 | Deceit | Bane | "Harvey Dent, who has been held up to you as the shining example of justice! You have been supplied with a false idol to stop you tearing down this corrupt city!" |
| 01:37:34 | Bane | "Let me tell you the truth about Harvey Dent." | |
| 01:37:36 | Deceit | Bane | "From the words of Gotham's police commissioner James Gordon: 'The Batman didn't murder Harvey Dent. He saved my boy, then took the blame for Harvey's appalling crimes, so that I could, to my shame, build a lie around this fallen idol. I praised the madman who tried to murder my own child. Well, I can no longer live with my lie. It is time to trust the people of Gotham with the truth, and it is time for me to resign.'" |
| 01:38:38 | Deceit | Blake | "Those men locked up for eight years in Blackgate, and denied parole under the Dent Act, was based on a lie?" |
| 01:38:40 | Gordon | "Gotham needed a hero." | |
| 01:38:45 | Blake | "You betrayed everything you stood for." | |
| 01:38:49 | Hypocrisy | Gordon | "There's a point far out there when the structures fail you, when the rules aren't weapons anymore, they're shackles, letting the bad guy get ahead." |
| 01:39:20 | Blake | "Your hands look plenty filthy to me, Commissioner." | |
| 01:44:18 | Necromancy | Ra's al Ghul | "Did you not think I would return, Bruce? I told you I was immortal." |
| 01:44:20 | Bruce | "I watched you die." | |
| 01:44:21 | Ra's al Ghul | "Oh, there are many forms of immortality." | |
| 01:45:10 | Hypocrisy | Ra's al Ghul | "You yourself fought the decadence of Gotham for years, with all your strength, all your resources, all your moral authority." |
| 01:45:12 | Deceit | Ra's al Ghul | "And the only victory you could achieve was a lie." |
| 01:47:14 | Immodesty | Bruce | Shirtless, doing pushups |
| 01:47:38 | Immodesty | Prisoner | Shirtless |
| 01:48:38 | Profanity | Prisoner | "A child born in hell." |
| 01:50:22 | Jones | "You should put your faith in something a little more real." | |
| 01:53:24 | Prisoner | "Survival is the spirit. The soul." | |
| 01:53:48 | Immodesty | Prisoner | Shirtless |
| 01:54:50 | Bruce | "I fear dying in here while my city burns. There's no one there to save it." | |
| 01:55:38 | Immodesty | Prisoner | Shirtless |
| 01:58:28 | Profanity | Gordon | "Where the hell are they?" |
| 01:58:56 | Profanity | Gordon | "Where's Foley, damn it?!" |
| 01:59:25 | Profanity | Gordon | "Bane's got their balls in a vice." |
| 02:00:24 | Profanity | Henchman | "You steal from us, you little bastard?" (speaking to child) |
| 02:00:30 | Feminism | Selina | Beating up henchmen |
| 02:00:36 | Theft | Selina | "Never steal anything from someone you can't outrun, kid." |
| 02:00:49 | Theft | Bruce | "You're pretty generous, for a thief." |
| 02:03:45 | Profanity | Lucius | "Picked a hell of a time to go on vacation, Mr. Wayne." |
| 02:04:17 | Feminism | Selina | Fighting men |
| 02:04:22 | Luck | Selina | "He should be so lucky." |
| 02:18:45 | Profanity | Miranda | "His very existence was a reminder of the hell he'd left his wife to die in." |
| 02:24:44 | Profanity | Blake | "You idiots! You sons of bitches!" |
| 02:24:55 | Father Reilly | "Alright boys, get in a circle, bow your heads." | |
| 02:28:58 | Sexual Immorality | Selina | Kisses Bruce |
| 02:29:10 | Gordon | "But shouldn't the people know the hero who saved them?" (referring to Batman's identity) | |
| 02:33:25 | Blake | "No one's ever going to know who saved an entire city." Gordon replies, "They know. It was the Batman." |