The Batman (2022)

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Hard to be a superhero without superpowers. Batman is implausibly well-trained, uses weapons, wears armor, uses every tech trick money can buy, and travels in military grade vehicles. Even then, I think a real-world Batman would have a very short career, if not short life (e.g., Parkour fails, getting shot in the face, police helicopter tracking, GPS tracking, the Batmobile getting towed, someone finally doing a little research into who makes Batman all his stuff, the reality of 6 vs. 1 combat). The most realistic superhero is really a person with superhuman powers. I can see why the cops would lay off Superman. What are you going to do, arrest him? Are you going to catch the flash? Are you going to run up a building after Spider Man? Even so, the anonymity of these characters is terribly implausible -- so you have the problem of where do you sleep? Where do you do eat? What do you do when baddies and governments lean on your loved ones to get leverage? A Superman who lives on the moon in a fortress of solitude and comes down just to put work in is probably the most "realistic" superhero I can imagine.
In comic book continuity (last time I was reading them that is) Batman suffered from something I compared to the TV character Dexter... about a hundred people knew Batman's secret identity.

Even if everyone were part of his extended "family," his allies, his informants, his fellow members in the Justice League or Outsiders (not to mention the plethora of still-living villains who learned his secret)... the law of averages would dictate some minor slip-up by someone along the way that would make his identity very traceable (heck, they even wrote into canon that his second teenage Robin figured out Batman's identity all by himself).

After several seasons of Dexter, too many people also knew who he was. Sure, they kept killing people who knew his secret off, but many remained. There were too many incidents (including official police incidents) to tie him to events that couldn't just go on never being connected by people hunting his serial killer identity. And they had to keep coming up with more far-fetched plot lines whenever someone did begin putting 2 and 2 together.

An aside: I remember as a kid watching the Batman TV show and wondering every episode - why don't they just shoot him and Robin? The villains always set these elaborate death traps (which they'd never stick around for to watch the dynamic duo's ultimate demise and from which the caped crusaders would always escape). I'd always say: what if the Joker just pulled out a gun and shot them both right now? I had a lot to learn about both TV entertainment and the fact that the Joker would never kill Batman - he completes him!



I have not, and have been avoiding this thread like crazy as a result. Sure hope it hasn't required any moderation.

But yeah I am hoping to see it quite soon.



That elusive hide-and-seek cow is at it again
Pretty sure someone was stabbed last week over a Jack Reacher 2 reference. May have only been a flesh wound, not sure. Looked rough though.

It can get pretty wild in here at times.



I have not, and have been avoiding this thread like crazy as a result. Sure hope it hasn't required any moderation.

But yeah I am hoping to see it quite soon.
Hi Chris! I haven't seen it either, but actually, we've been couching as much politics as possible in this discussion disguised as comic book geek talk!

(People don't realize, but comic book geeks have comprised the illuminati in every secret organization & high-tech covert operation since the Golden Age! If The Big Bang Theory hadn't been a sit-com, it would have "outed" us long ago!)



So guys, for whoever watched the film, any reviews? Opinions?



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Overlong but watchable. Not really necessary but now that it's here, I'll watch the next installment.
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“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
So guys, for whoever watched the film, any reviews? Opinions?
The length and Dano really hurt it. Much like Bloodsport it works better watching in clips on YouTube. Only other objections seem to come from the water conservancy groups.

Zoe Kravitz is a real bright spot. She felt like the first authentic Catwoman not in an animated movie. Jeffrey Wright is in a completely different movie, but in a good way.

Batmobile scene is one of the best on film. The behind the scenes of the technology they used (pioneered) in filming is impressive for how it shows on screen.



To me it almost seems wrong to run this down or to use the same yardstick as you would other films in the genre. If it failed then at least it failed in a sincere and artful attempt at something different.



So guys, for whoever watched the film, any reviews? Opinions?
Best Batman film overall.

Reeves is the perfect director for this type of film, bringing a sensibility that's halfway between an accomplished journeyman and genuine artist. He emulates Fincher's sense of atmosphere and texture extraordinarily well and uses it to truly bring the essence of the best Dark Knight stories to life, with a fidelity unseen to this point.

From the plot to neo-noir aesthetics, everything is aligned to feel pulled straight from the pages of Miller, Loeb and Brubaker. This alone would rank it highly in the pantheon of Batman films but it's the actual characterization of Batman (which pulls from both Scott Snyder and Geoff Johns) that really gives it the edge.

Virtually every other Batman film has gotten Batman wrong and made him second fiddle to the villain. He kills in every single other iteration (even Nolan's) with the exception of Adam West's turn, except here. He follows the Dark Knight mythos to a degree that rivals The Animated Series in terms of accuracy. Given that he spends the vast majority as Batman, rather than Bruce Wayne, makes the one area it strays from classic canon forgivable: Wayne himself.

However, even the introverted, ghoulish Wayne of this film has precedence in the comics (Earth One) and seems to be a logical choice to allow this Batman to grow into the classic playboy facade we've seen before.

I loved the performances of every supporting cast member (Wright, Kravitz and Farrel were perfect) and Dano was used to an extremely effective degree, alternating between intimidating, to cringe-inducing, to pathetic, and like all of his great performances, really leaned into how punchable he is. I was particularly pleased with a reveal that completely transforms his dynamic with Batman and emphasizes that he is, like all eventually Arkham inmates should be portrayed, crazy.

In terms of craft, plotting, performance, and source material fidelity, I struggle to think of a finer example within the superhero genre.

It's great.



Victim of The Night
So guys, for whoever watched the film, any reviews? Opinions?
Kind of a bummer in the weird ways it lets the audience down, given that you would swear while you were watching it that the movie had real promise. Felt like too much studio interference again, as well as some misguided ideas. Also overlong with a fourth act that just doesn't feel right.



Kind of a bummer in the weird ways it lets the audience down, given that you would swear while you were watching it that the movie had real promise. Felt like too much studio interference again, as well as some misguided ideas. Also overlong with a fourth act that just doesn't feel right.

Why not do a really dark knight? He runs the city. His bribes keep the cops off his back. His philanthropy keeps the city running. The contracts between Wayne Industries and the city keep Gotham floating financially. Body cams work on Wayne tech which is they don't work when they get close the Bat. So do the stoplights. Now you know why Batman doesn't get stuck in traffic.



The rundown areas of town. stay rundown for a reason -- it gives him room to operate -- no CCTV cameras, at least none that work reliably. Lot's of shadows. A lot of broken streetlights. A lot or dark alleys. A lot of old buildings that Wayne owns. The Warrens are a predator diorama, an arena of his construction.



His fear is not that he will be exposed like Epstein and the whole city will be consumed in a scandal and Gotham will become hell with the lid off. Batman is like MacBeth mixed in with Vic Mackey, he goes deeper and deeper to protect his secret and his city. He's addicted to danger, fighting criminals, but also anyone who threatens the secrets that keep Gotham running.



Zoe Kravitz is a real bright spot. She felt like the first authentic Catwoman not in an animated movie.
Uh, Michelle anyone?



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
I would agree that Kravitz is the best Catwoman so far. Michelle was too over the top, not that this was her fault though, and it was mostly the director.



“Sugar is the most important thing in my life…”
Pfeiffer’s seemed like a one-off. There are a lot that love it and I can see why. It’s just too over the top and unlike any other Catwoman for my taste.



Victim of The Night
I love Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman but I agree that it is almost as far from canon as I can imagine beyond a woman who actually has like cat-superpowers, oh...



I love Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman but I agree that it is almost as far from canon as I can imagine beyond a woman who actually has like cat-superpowers, oh...

I remember there was an elseworlds title where Batman was a vampire and Catwoman was a lycanthrope. I can't remember what the Joker was in that one. Maybe just a serial killer?

ETA: I only skimmed through this a couple decades ago, so I don't remember much in way of details.



Once again, I am entirely happy being in an alternate universe, one where it's clear as daylight that Zoe Kravitz is a pretty shit actress. It didn't help that most her dialogue in the film is painfully bad, but I have zero idea what anyone is talking about when they say her performance was good.


The movie is fine. I appreciate it for taking superhero movies in a different direction, and I liked Dano, Farrell and Wright well enough. And Pattison was not so bad even if his one dimensional mope gets a little tiresome over three hours. But I look at the whole film as more of an interesting miss than anything I'd want to revisit. And whether or not it is faithful to the source material couldn't be less relevant to me since I've never seen most comics being a terribly interesting thing to emulate beyond the garish style they can employ (ie Creepshow).

File this one under: not worth incineration