The Dark Knight (2008)
Related: Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
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 13 times), immodesty, fornication, theft, deceit, defiance against God, and disdain for authority. Since its heroes practice sin, this movie conditions 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
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). God requires oaths to be sworn by his name (Deut. 6:13).
- Bruce and Gordon blaspheme God
- Harvey, the mayor, police officers, and others take God's name in vain
- Weurtz swears a profane oath
- Unlawful lots: Harvey repeatedly flips his "lucky coin," appealing not to God but to chance. Moreover, we find that he has been cheating with a double-headed coin
- Profane references: hell (7), damn (4), among others
- At least 7 references to luck
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 self-appointed masked outlaw vigilante, Batman defies civil authority, whose official policy is to arrest him on sight.
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).
- Bruce (Christian Bale, married) embraces and kisses Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaal, unmarried)
- Harvey (Aaron Eckhart, unmarried) kisses Rachel
- Harvey and Rachel are in a sexual relationship outside of marriage
- A man and woman are shown frantically fixing their clothing as though they almost got caught being sexual in public
- Bruce repeatedly pursues and seduces Rachel, despite her being in a relationship with Harvey (who professed his love for her and desires marriage)
- Women are showing breast cleavage, wearing bikinis
- Bruce is shown shirtless
- Men are shown in undergarments
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).
- Bruce and Alfred come up with deceptive alibis in order to explain Bruce's whereabouts while Batman is busy fighting crime
- Lucius, Bruce's ally, deliberately ridicules a man who caught onto Batman's true identity, causing him to doubt the truth of his findings
- Harvey lies to the public about being Batman so as to protect the real Batman from the Joker, and is admonished by his love interest Rachel, "Harvey, tell everyone the truth."
- Commissioner Gordon is depicted as a habitual liar, who instructs his men to lie to the press
- Bruce and Gordon agree to cover up Harvey's crimes and lie to the public for Gotham's good. "They must never know what he did. … The Joker cannot win," Batman argues. "I killed those people. That's what I can be. I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be." Batman sanctimoniously presents himself as the solution to Gotham's greatest problem. His reasoning: "Because sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded." Gordon ends the movie praising this master deceiver as "the hero Gotham deserves … a silent guardian, a watchful protector."
Sinful Content in The Dark Knight
Warning! The following table contains direct quotations from the film, which include instances of blasphemy, profanity, and other vices.
| Timestamp | Classification | Character | Quote/Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:13:34 | Immodesty | Bruce | Takes off his shirt |
| 00:14:15 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | Flips coin |
| 00:14:17 | Luck | Harvey | "My father's lucky coin." |
| 00:14:18 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | "As I recall, it got me my first date with you." |
| 00:14:20 | Rachel | "I wouldn't leave something like that up to chance." | |
| 00:14:24 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | Flips coin |
| 00:14:24 | Luck | Harvey | "I don't. I make my own luck." |
| 00:16:42 | Profanity | Gordon | "I hear you got a hell of a right cross." |
| 00:16:42 | Vigilantism | Gordon | "Official policy is to arrest the vigilante known as Batman on sight." |
| 00:19:25 | Immodesty | Rachel | Showing cleavage |
| 00:19:39 | Immodesty | Natascha | Showing cleavage |
| 00:20:23 | Vigilantism | Natascha | "I'm talking about the kind of city that idolizes a masked vigilante." |
| 00:20:28 | Hypocrisy | Harvey | "Gotham City is proud of an ordinary citizen standing up for what's right." |
| 00:20:32 | Vigilantism | Natascha | "Gotham needs heroes like you, elected officials, not a man who thinks he's above the law." |
| 00:20:34 | Deceit | Bruce | "Exactly. Who appointed the Batman?" |
| 00:21:28 | Sexual Immorality | Harvey | "If I were sneaking out every night, someone would've noticed by now." (looks at Rachel and grabs her hand as he says this) |
| 01:21:58 | Profanity | Criminal | "What the hell is this?" |
| 00:24:08 | Profanity | Joker | "Did your balls drop off?" |
| 00:24:13 | Profanity | Criminal | "Damn right." |
| 00:28:52 | Deceit | Bruce | "Did you think of an alibi?" (asking Alfred, who replies, "Oh, yes.") |
| 00:29:15 | Immodesty | Women | In bikinis |
| 00:29:16 | Immodesty | Bruce | Unbuttoned shirt |
| 00:34:00 | Luck | Lucius | "Mr. Wayne, good luck." |
| 00:35:31 | Profanity | Lau | "Where the hell are the cops?" (in Chinese) |
| 00:35:43 | Profanity | Lau | "What the hell am I paying them for?" (in Chinese) |
| 00:40:50 | Profanity | Mayor | "You're gonna set a new record at appeals for the quickest kick in the ass." |
| 00:44:20 | Immodesty | Women | Immodestly dressed, showing cleavage |
| 00:44:25 | Immodesty | Rachel | Showing cleavage |
| 00:44:50 | Blasphemy | Bruce | "The guy from those God-awful campaign commercials?" |
| 00:45:55 | Infidelity | Bruce | "You know that day that you once told me about, when Gotham would no longer need Batman? It's coming." (pursuing Rachel even though she is in a relationship with Harvey) |
| 00:45:56 | Rachel | "Bruce, you can't ask me to wait for that." | |
| 00:48:51 | Profanity | Gordon | "Oh, shit." |
| 00:49:55 | Sexual Immorality | Man, woman | Frantically fixing their clothing as though they almost got caught being sexual in public |
| 00:50:00 | Blasphemy | Woman | "Oh, thank God, you've got a panic room." |
| 00:58:30 | Vigilantism | Lucius | "...one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands..." |
| 00:58:30 | Deceit | Lucius | Deliberately ridicules a man who has caught on to Batman's true identity to get him to doubt the truth as ridiculous |
| 00:58:35 | Luck | Lucius | "Good luck." |
| 01:01:10 | Immodesty | Men | Tied up, in undergarments |
| 01:03:57 | Blasphemy | Officer | "God help whoever [Batman] does wanna talk to." |
| 01:05:04 | Blasphemy | Harvey | "God, is there anyone in this town we can trust?" |
| 01:05:23 | Harvey | "I love you." (on the phone with Rachel) | |
| 01:06:55 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | "That's why I'm not gonna leave it up to me. Heads, you get to keep your head." |
| 01:06:56 | Luck | Harvey | "Tails, not so lucky." |
| 01:07:19 | Blasphemy | Schiff | "I don't know anything! God, don't!" |
| 01:07:30 | Unlawful Lots | Bruce | "You'd leave a man's life to chance?" |
| 01:08:55 | Infidelity | Bruce | "You once told me that if the day came when I was finished, that we'd be together." (pursuing Rachel even though she is in a relationship with Harvey) |
| 01:09:12 | Sexual Immorality | Bruce, Rachel | Bruce embraces, kisses Rachel |
| 01:09:30 | Infidelity | Rachel | "Bruce, if you turn yourself in, they're not going to let us be together." |
| 01:10:10 | Hypocrisy | Alfred | "[Batman] can make the choice that no one else can makethe right choice." |
| 01:11:14 | Vigilantism | Female Reporter | "You'd rather protect an outlaw vigilante than the lives of citizens?" |
| 01:11:17 | Vigilantism | Harvey | "The Batman is an outlaw." |
| 01:11:40 | Harvey | "I promise you, the dawn is coming." | |
| 01:11:45 | Vigilantism | Harvey | "One day, the Batman will have to answer for the laws he's broken." |
| 01:12:10 | Deceit | Harvey | "I am the Batman." |
| 01:12:45 | Hypocrisy | Alfred | "He's not being a hero. He's being something more." (referring to Batman) |
| 01:13:58 | Sexual Immorality | Harvey, Rachel | Harvey kisses Rachel |
| 01:14:05 | Deceit | Rachel | "Harvey, tell everyone the truth." |
| 01:14:10 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | "Heads, I go through with it." (flips coin) |
| 01:14:11 | Rachel | "This is your life. You can't leave something like that to chance." | |
| 01:14:20 | Luck | Rachel | "You make your own luck." (she notices he has a double-headed coin) |
| 01:14:54 | Profanity | Officer | "What the hell is that?" |
| 01:14:58 | Profanity | Officer | "Damn it!" |
| 01:15:38 | Blasphemy | Officer | "Jesus. Come on, get us out of here." |
| 01:16:02 | Profanity | Officer | "What the hell was that?" |
| 01:22:49 | Profanity | Gordon | "We got you, you son of a bitch." |
| 01:23:10 | Harvey | "I trusted him to do the right thing." | |
| 01:23:13 | Profanity | Harvey | "Saving my ass." |
| 01:29:10 | Hypocrisy | Bruce | "I have one rule." |
| 01:31:07 | Blasphemy | Rachel | "Oh Harvey, thank God." |
| 01:32:45 | Profanity | Harvey | "Shit." |
| 01:33:51 | Minced Oath | Medic | "Jeez." |
| 01:34:15 | Profanity | Officer | "It's my own damn fault." |
| 01:35:25 | Rachel | "I don't want to live without you ... my answer is yes." (to his proposal) | |
| 01:37:44 | Rachel | "If you lose your faith in me, please keep your faith in people." | |
| 01:38:15 | Hypocrisy | Bruce | "I was meant to inspire good, not madness, not death." |
| 01:38:18 | Hypocrisy | Alfred | "You have inspired good. But you spat in the faces of Gotham's criminals." |
| 01:38:45 | Profanity | Bruce | "I let that murdering psychopath blow him half to hell." |
| 01:38:55 | Infidelity | Bruce | "She was going to wait for me, Alfred. Dent doesn't know. He can never know." |
| 01:53:20 | Deceit | Gordon | "If anybody asks, we got him out." (referring to Harvey) |
| 01:54:41 | Blasphemy | Bartender | "Sweet Jesus." |
| 01:55:05 | Blasphemy | Weurtz | "Jesus. I thought you were dead." |
| 01:55:29 | Blasphemy | Weurtz | "I swear to God." |
| 01:55:55 | Lucius | "Unethical. Dangerous. You've turned every cell phone in Gotham into a microphone. ... This is wrong." | |
| Bruce | "I've gotta find this man, Lucius." | ||
| Lucius | "At what cost?" | ||
| 01:56:30 | Lucius | "Spying on 30 million people isn't part of my job description." | |
| 01:56:44 | Compromise | Lucius | "I'll help you this one time." |
| 01:57:36 | Blasphemy | Mayor | "Oh, Jesus." |
| 01:57:40 | Deceit | Mayor | "How long can you keep this quiet?" (speaking with Gordon about Harvey missing) |
| 01:58:56 | Luck | Harvey | "You're a lucky man." |
| 01:58:56 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | Flips coin to determine if he should murder the driver |
| 02:00:45 | Blasphemy | Captain | "Oh, my God." |
| 02:01:20 | Superstition | Woman | Crosses herself |
| 02:13:35 | Hypocrisy | Joker | "You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness." (speaking to Batman) |
| 02:14:10 | Hypocrisy | Bruce | "This city just showed you that it's full of people ready to believe in good." |
| 02:16:05 | Profanity | Harvey | "If you stood up against corruption instead of doing your deal with the devil." |
| 02:17:02 | Blasphemy | Gordon | "Oh, goddamn it." |
| 02:18:07 | Blasphemy | Harvey | "The world is cruel. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair." |
| 02:18:40 | Hypocrisy | Bruce | "[Joker] wanted to prove that even someone as good as you could fall." (speaking to Harvey) |
| 02:19:05 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | Flips coin, then shoots Batman |
| 02:19:20 | Unlawful Lots | Harvey | Flips coin |
| 02:21:15 | Gordon | "Whatever chance you gave us at fixing our city dies with Harvey's reputation. We bet it all on him. The Joker took the best of us and tore him down. People will lose hope." (speaking to Batman) | |
| 02:21:20 | Deceit | Bruce | "They won't. They must never know what he did." |
| Gordon | "Five dead. Two of them cops. You can't sweep that." | ||
| Bruce | "No. But the Joker cannot win. Gotham needs its true hero." | ||
| 02:21:50 | Bruce | "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." | |
| 02:22:09 | Deceit | Bruce | "I killed those people. That's what I can be. I'm whatever Gotham needs me to be." |
| 02:22:25 | Deceit | Gordon | Lying to the public |
| 02:22:42 | Injustice | Bruce | "You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen." |
| 02:22:52 | Bruce | "Because sometimes the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded." | |
| 02:23:30 | Injustice | Gordon's Son | "Why is he running, Dad? He didn't do anything wrong." |
| 02:23:48 | Hypocrisy | Gordon | "Because we have to chase him. Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector." |