Movie: The Batman (Battinson)

[McParadigm]

I feel like this entire movie can be summed up by that one sequence where

Spoiler: show

…it bends over backwards to get Batman and Gordon alone at the jail, everyone allowing them to have a private conversation for uh reasons, then rushes through a chase scene that ends when Batman bounces face first off the bottom of a bridge at 200 miles an hour and doesn’t care at all because smash cut to him and Gordon having another conversation.

There’s this constant effortful investment in the believability of the character and setting, juxtaposed with these fast and furious-level consequence free zones.

[JuanHamm]

Lot's of people fired automatic weapons at Batman from a few feet away and thank God none of them hit him in the head.

[Ello Sailor]

This was boring except for the car chase in the middle.

Imagine finding Zoe Kravitz in a variety of skimpy outfits boring.

[McParadigm]

I want to add that Gordon being a 56 year old who puts a USB device given to him by a psychopath into his wifi-connected work laptop without a thought in his head is the most realistic moment in any Batman movie, ever.

[Ms Harmless]

Reeves' Batman has no problem making you wonder who the real heros are, which is refreshing

[Ms Harmless]

I feel like this entire movie can be summed up by that one sequence where

Spoiler: show

…it bends over backwards to get Batman and Gordon alone at the jail, everyone allowing them to have a private conversation for uh reasons, then rushes through a chase scene that ends when Batman bounces face first off the bottom of a bridge at 200 miles an hour and doesn’t care at all because smash cut to him and Gordon having another conversation.

There’s this constant effortful investment in the believability of the character and setting, juxtaposed with these fast and furious-level consequence free zones.

this is most comic book movies

[Ms Harmless]

to me, it's just another way of approaching Tim Burton's grimdark camp; the entire scene from the whispered conversation to the faceplant is all laughs, and so is a lot of the movie

[Biff Pocoroba]

Debuting on April 22nd on HBO Max. The turn around time to streaming these days is so quick.

It debuts on the actual channel Saturday. Again that turn around is surprising; huge blockbuster to pay cable in less than two months? The industry has sea changed the past couple of years.

[Rangi Guy]

Watched this last night. It was fine, I enjoyed it - but I preferred Nolan's asthetic a whole lot more

[Anders]

Finally watching this. First ten minutes a bit bland, but hopefully picks up.

[Anders]

I enjoyed it. The action scenes were good, Robert Pattinson was excellent, and the story was ok.

Watched this and Spider-Man with my wife. I thought this one was better, but her reactions were a lot stronger. She absolutely hated Spider-Man, but loved every single thing about The Batman.

[lennytheweedwhacker]

I enjoyed it. The action scenes were good, Robert Pattinson was excellent, and the story was ok.

Watched this and Spider-Man with my wife. I thought this one was better, but her reactions were a lot stronger. She absolutely hated Spider-Man, but loved every single thing about The Batman.

You have a fine wife. Hang onto that gal.

[Superblood Wolfmoon]

Well, this was quite the ride.

Of course, no Batman movie can be made without comparisons to those that came before, but I’ll do my best to judge this on its own merits before diving into that side of things.

First off, the cinematography was bar none. Thank you Matt Reeves for still-cam fight scenes, a welcome respite from the shaky-cam bullshit of the past 15 years. The camera work in this movie was phenomenal, and I found myself calling it out several times throughout. Particular kudos to the car chase, and the blending of styles to make you feel at once in the cars and on the street.

Pattinson rules in this movie, and is definitely up there with Bale for his portrayal of the Dark Knight. Paul Dano’s Riddler was up there with Heath Ledger’s Joker, especially when we got to the Arkham scene. Jeffrey Wright makes a great Jim Gordon, Turturro was great as always, and Zoe Kravitz was impressive as Selena Kyle. And yeah Colin Farrell…dude, I had no idea. If he had more screen time and a bigger character arc I would say Oscar-worthy.

Thank you again Matt Reeves for sparing us the pearls flying through the alley. We know the Bruce Wayne backstory already, and I loved how in the first few minutes we’re already welll into Gotham’s decline and The Batman is a recognized force.

Someone said the first 10 minutes were boring…not sure I watched the same movie, because by the time we hear “they think I’m hiding in the shadows…but I am the shadows,” this film had its hooks in me.

It wasn’t all perfect. The ending felt rushed, which is something you shouldn’t feel in a 3-hour movie. The whole flooding the city thing, the mayor-elect being shot yet somehow is OK a few minutes later, the army of lonely incel types…I feel like for a Batman movie that eschewed the origin stuff and much of the character development other movies spend their time on, they could have done a better job here.

Now, the comparisons. Burton’s Batman films leaned more into the camp of the Adam West television series. Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy felt less like a comic book and did its best to make the viewer feel like this was a believable universe. This one felt more Nolan-esque but still felt like a graphic novel, especially with the way characters like the Penguin and Catwoman were portrayed.

Overall I give this an 8.5 out of 10. Really enjoyed the dark, moody vibe, the acting, cinematography and gritty representation of the characters and story. I think it could have either been a half hour shorter and tightened up a bit (particularly the ending), or fleshed out into two movies with a sensible stopping point between the two. But what do I know, I don’t make movies, I just watch them.

[Ello Sailor]

Paul Dano’s Riddler was up there with Heath Ledger’s Joker.

u wot m8?

[Ms Harmless]

it was, without a doubt

Heath Ledger was great but TDK wasn't even his best movie

[Ello Sailor]

You've lost your minds.

[Ello Sailor]

Heath Ledger was great but TDK wasn't even his best movie

Irrelevant.

[VinylGuy]

Ledger was better than Dano.

Hell, he even got more screen time.

[Anders]

This movie could have used some Jim Carrey.

[VinylGuy]

i feel they added the question mark on dano because if not it would be just a guy in a jacket with duck tape in his face