"The Batman"

Your opinions/reviews are welcome.

I liked it quite a bit. Without going into spoilers, if you've ever wanted a Batman "detective" movie, this is it. Pattinson was fine, the rest of the cast was very good. The movie is shot and scored really beautifully, and the sound design is perhaps the best I've heard. It's dark and brooding, but still PG-13, so not TOO dark. But, the plot is pretty convoluted, and it's probably 20 minutes longer than it needed to be. Still, very good overall, and one of the better entries in the Batman franchise.

I didn't really like this portrayal of "Bruce Wayne" but I did like the portrayal of "Batman".  Bruce Wayne seemed very socially awkward, sloppily dressed, quiet.  Def not the smooth talking playboy type that he's been in the past.  Pattinson had the least lines of any character in the movie.  I did like the movie as a whole but I agree there were several scenes that could have been shortened up significantly.  The Dark Knight trilogy is still my favorite but this one wasn't bad.  I'd watch a sequel.  

I agree with Tom, really enjoyed the movie. My 26 year old is a superhero nerd and Bats is one of his favorites. He really liked it but also thought they could show more of the playboy side. Bat mobile is cool. My sis went with us to see it, she's not into these kind of movies but really digs Pattinson. She wants to see it again, so maybe she would count as a very casual fan. I can't wait to see what they do for a sequel...

I'm glad to see these reviews. It's highly unlikely I'll see it in the theater, but knowing I don't have to actively avoid it like most of what's come out of DC lately makes me happy. 

Well, Zack Snyder doesn't appear to be involved, so that's at least one strike in its favor.

Despite the vampire thing, I don't mind Robert Pattinson.  I'll reserve judgement on whether he can pull off the physicality of the Batman persona, though.

I like Jeffery Wright, too, but I don't see him as Jim Gordon.  Maybe since it seems to be set earlier in the timeline, that won't be an issue.

In general I am perennially disappointed by the DC movies.  I probably won't pay to see this in the theatre, but I will watch it when it becomes available at home.

In reply to Duke :

That and it's THREE berkeleyING HOURS LONG. that's too much. 

In reply to Patientzero :

Pattinson played that similar role in the vampire movies. I always chuckled when rifftrax made fun of him saying "Line" because he is on camera but not talking. 

Patientzero said:

I didn't really like this portrayal of "Bruce Wayne" but I did like the portrayal of "Batman".  Bruce Wayne seemed very socially awkward, sloppily dressed, quiet.  Def not the smooth talking playboy type that he's been in the past. 

Since it's early in his career, it could be explained as Bruce Wayne having not quite nailed the cheery, wealthy playboy public face yet.

I'm going to see it on Tuesday, I'm excited for it. I started out not interested at all, but the trailers really won me over. I'm glad to hear Batman actually does detective work in this one, since Batman is World's Greatest Detective. Nolan's films kind of seemed to forget that, and Batman was a bit of a dunce who was always playing catch-up to the villians.

NickD said:

I'm glad to hear Batman actually does detective work in this one, since Batman is World's Greatest Detective. Nolan's films kind of seemed to forget that, and Batman was a bit of a dunce who was always playing catch-up to the villians.

I know I am in the minority, but I really am not a fan of Nolan's Dark Knight movies, and you've nailed one of the reasons why.  Batman is supposed to be smart first and tough a close second.  Nolan's Batman is tough first, obsessive second, and smart a distant third.

Duke said:

NickD said:

I'm glad to hear Batman actually does detective work in this one, since Batman is World's Greatest Detective. Nolan's films kind of seemed to forget that, and Batman was a bit of a dunce who was always playing catch-up to the villians.

I know I am in the minority, but I really am not a fan of Nolan's Dark Knight movies, and you've nailed one of the reasons why.  Batman is supposed to be smart first and tough a close second.  Nolan's Batman is tough first, obsessive second, and smart a distant third.

I think Batman Begin is the only good one, largely because he's just starting out and Cillian Murphy nails Scarecrow. I thought Heath Ledger played a good psychopath, but he didn't really feel like the Joker. He could have just as easily have been Victor Zsasz or Anarky or a couple other Batman villains if he wasn't wearing the green and purple clothing and white face paint. And the less said about The Dark Knight Rises, the better. The villain wants to cordon off the city and will blow it up if people don't act like anarchists but is just going to blow it up anyway? Gotham sends literally it's entire police department into the sewers, which would be roughly 60,000 officers if you base it off New York City's ratio of population-to-officers, to hunt for Bane. What if there were other crimes going on? Wouldn't the police just be tripping all over each other down there? Batman couldn't figure out that he was being districted away from the stock market, or baited by Bane, or that Miranda Tate was blatantly evil? C'mon, this is a guy who has prepared ways to beat all of his allies, just in case they ever turn on him, or can hold his own against Superman because he's that prepared. At least Batfleck was usually pretty quick on the draw and usually the smartest guy in the room.

I've heard the complaint about it being three hours, but it fills every second with relevance. It feels like a much shorter movie, although it's still fairly dense with narrative.

And even at three hours, there's more than a few expository monologues that tell but don't show the story. At some level I'm totally fine with that, and they;re mostly in the service of world-building and laying out this version of Gotham, which I think is something you have to do whenever you;re rebooting a franchise.

Comic fans will recognize a lot of nods to Year Zero and even No Man's Land in the story, but instead of constantly winking at the comics it does do a great job of being its own thing. Pattinson is an A+ Batman—particularly as one early in his career. He's not such a good Bruce Wayne, but Bruce isn't given much to do in this story, and I feel like that's a facet of his personality that will be further developed in later installments. 

But, overall, I dug it a lot. The thing is, good Batmans should be barely sane, PTSD-riddled sociopaths who are only seen as "heroes" in comparison to the people they think they;re saving Gotham from because they're friends with a couple cops. Ultimately, Batman is 100% as crazy and probably nearly as destructive in the long run as his rogues gallery, but he launders his crazy under the cover of "Justice." There's a fantastic moment in this film (LIGHT SPOILER TERRITORY) When B-man realizes that all his hard work to that point was basically completely ineffective to the outcome of the story. And his response is like "Garrrrrrrr! Need to punch something! Justice! Garrrrrr!" Finally he comes to realize that some problems can't be solved with pnching or talking like Michael Wincott all the time, and it will be interesting to see where those threads lead in future films.

In reply to JG Pasterjak :

Nailed it.

See it the theatre. If only for the hallway scene lit entirely by muzzle fire.

Riddler is great.

Haven't seen it (I rarely, rarely go to the movies) but as a fan of comics, color me interested. 

I believe WB will release it on HBO in mid April so it won't be a long wait. 

If I go to see it in the theatre, will I spend 2:45 pissed off because it's either way too loud or way too quiet?

I'm Batman.

Duke said:

If I go to see it in the theatre, will I spend 2:45 pissed off because it's either way too loud or way too quiet?

Or, you have Dune, where it was both too loud and too quiet.

Reason #3245 why MCU is better than DCU: if you're a billionaire, playboy, unpowered superhero....be Ironman.

I'll wait till it hits HBOmax I believe.  3 hours just begs for an intermission for bathroom breaks.

Duke said:

If I go to see it in the theatre, will I spend 2:45 pissed off because it's either way too loud or way too quiet?

I saw it in a relatively new (less than 5 years old) theater with all the state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos sound stuff, and it sounded amazing, to be honest. It's a very rainy movie, and the way they handled the rain and the dripping water and such was really excellent and immersive. It was one of the things that really stood out to me in a positive way about the movie.

NickD said:

Duke said:

If I go to see it in the theatre, will I spend 2:45 pissed off because it's either way too loud or way too quiet?

Or, you have Dune, where it was both too loud and too quiet.

Yeah, that's what I meant to be saying:  15 minutes of the movie would be an appropriate volume level, and the other 2:45 would be either too loud or too quiet.

In reply to Duke :

Saw it last night. I had no problems with volume and I remember the footfalls real well, and the movie didn't feel like 3 hours long.

JG hits it on the head- it's Batman realizing steadily that you can't punch problems away, and that he's partially a hypocrite himself in how he behaves. If you know the recent video from the youtube channel Like Stories of Old, how men seeking "Higher validation" or fighting things of this size ends up dehumanizing them, then you'll love this movie because it's about Batterson realizing he's a goddamn weirdo who hasn't created a lasting change aside from a generalized fear of a dude in a costume. He's spooky, divorced from human sensibilities, and so focused on his goal he isn't even supporting his family and what it's made.

The detective details were good, and I like that they got fouled by a problem with translation; a good way to show, that even the smartest can still be wrong.

The batmobile and it's noise was sex. It's a Mad Max Batmobile. It's ramp scene rules.

I legitimately enjoyed it. As reviewers have stated, it's a detective movie with some Se7en and Saw parallels, which meant there was little chance I wouldn't dig it. But I have this habit of going to DC movies even though just about all of them are god awful, so it definitely could have gone pear shaped and I wouldn't have been surprised.

Instead of the "usual" brilliant billionaire playboy, this new Bruce Wayne is damaged, sad, and vengeful—which definitely might ruffle the feathers of traditional Batman fans. Honestly it's kind of refreshing, as he feels more complex and relatable in a way. He's good at his "job"... but not great. He's still figuring it out, and definitely grows through the film. 

Aside from that, it was a dark movie, in tone and visuals, with a specific color palette that really worked—not like the more recent justice league/batman integrations that were dark in an "instagram filter" sort of manner. It doesn't feel like any of the other modern DC movies to me, which is good. In this new world of formulaic Marvel flicks(which I still love), it stands out.

3 hours felt just fine to me, honestly. Don't drink much before the theater and you'll be fine. Just don't pee when Gordon and Bruce are staking out the baddies as they do their handoff. The new batmobile may or may not be making an appearance soon after. 

I went and saw it last night, absolutely loved it. Best live-action Batman film, in my opinion. The visuals and sound design were really good. Pattinson's Batman is equal parts thinker and fighter, and there's no goofy Batman voice like has plagued the last couple entries. Jeffrey Wright would not have been someone I would have thought of to play Jim Gordon off the top of my head, but he nails that gruff, weary vibe. Paul Dano's take on the Riddler elevates a character who's always been kind of a chump and a jackass, in my mind, into a credible threat who is incredibly creepy and unhinged. The plot has a lot of moving pieces, and when they said it would feature Riddler, Catwoman, Penguin, and Carmine Falcone, I got worried that they were trying to shoehorn too many characters at once but they made it work pretty well. And, yeah, the Batmobile is kickass in this one and the chase scene is awesome. Also, Bruce Wayne drives a black split-window 'Vette, so can't complain there either.

Also, holy E36 M3, I'm so glad we didn't have to see Thomas and Martha Wayne get killed again, or Bruce Wayne training to become Batman and developing his suit. It just starts out and he's Batman and it establishes he's been around for 2 years now. I'm glad that filmmakers seem to be learning that the really popular superheroes that everyone is familiar with don't necessarily need to show their origin. Like how Spider-man: Homecoming skipped right past how he got his powers and doesn't show us Uncle Ben getting killed (actually, I'm not sure Uncle Ben even existed in the MCU version. There was a thin reference to him in Homecoming, but then No Way Home makes it sound like he never existed)