The Dark Knight Rises

For: fornication and sensuality, moral confusion, and strong language

The Dark Knight Rises.  Plot-wise, almost imperceptibly.  Morality-wise, he plummets.  In a world where Bruce Wayne isn’t just pretending to philander, where career criminals are among the heroes, where sidekick Robin is the one using strong language, and where every last character is trying to escape the past—in a world like that, Batman’s trip from 100% gloom to 60% gloom may feel almost rocket-like, but in the real world it’s still way below biblical standards.


Fornication and Sensuality
Bruce Wayne/Batman and a female side character are shown unclothed, embracing and kissing on the floor under a blanket.  The hero’s passionate, illicit sexual relationship with a seductress is depicted as being fulfilling, and if not for events that removed the girl from the picture, it is implied that Batman would happily continue fornicating with her on a regular basis.

The sensual Catwoman kisses Bruce/Batman a few times, and he seems to enjoy that, too.

There are a few off-color mentions of, or allusions to, balls.



Moral Confusion
Catwoman is the kind of woman who, when told that, if Batman’s going to fight alongside her, there is to be no killing, responds, “Where’s the fun in that?”  She steals regularly.  Habitually.  Because she wants to.  She is an evil woman, but Bruce/Batman doesn’t seem to mind.  His repeated attempts to persuade her that there’s more to her than crime may sound nice, but they don’t do away with the fact that there is not less to her than that.  Eventually he is won over enough (in a positively-portrayed way) to voluntarily give her access to technology that will thwart the best attempts of the law and prevent her ever being brought to justice¹.  In the end, Bruce Wayne/Batman—formerly the very symbol of justice—is shown enjoying Italy with his new career-criminal girlfriend, Catwoman.


Strong Language
J---s
J---s
G-dd-mn
G-dd-mn
d-mn
d-mn
h-ll
h-ll
h-ll
h-ll
h-ll
h-ll
b-tch
b-tch
b-stard


¹ This is aiding and abetting a criminal, itself a criminal offense.