Like many of you I am still reeling from seeing the incredible trailer given to us of Matt Reeves “the Batman” at DC FanDome. Among other things we can certainly confirm this is not for kids. This is a dark, gritty, Batman story that is potentially quite violent. I think we’re going to see a less refined and angry Batman who is a lot more brutal than we are used to. With that in mind I wonder how far WB would allow them to go. Naturally you make a hell of a lot more money with a PG-13 feature that parents can still take their kids to. Batman films have towed the line of PG-13 for years, most likely specifically for that reason. But a film that looks this dark, with a murder mystery like we will be seeing could certainly see an R-rated cut. I felt like they were taking Batman and sticking him into a world like David Fincher’s Seven. I don’t know if WB is willing to take a potential loss of money if the theatrical cut gets an R rating. At the very least there could be an R-rated directors cut which they release for home viewing. Either way I cannot wait to see this movie.
R rating didn’t hinder Deadpool’s box office success. With a super star character like Batman, I don’t think an R rating would kill him.
You’re right, but put it into perspective. There’s a reason that Joker set the record for worldwide box office gross for an R rated movie at $1 billion. Not the least of which is my seeing it four times in the theater. The highest grossing movies are PG-13 because parents bring their kids. If WB is willing to forgo those potential additional profits they could make an incredible R-rated film the likes of which we have not seen from the Batman franchise.
Because it was a remake of Taxi Driver? lol. Deadpool has a rabid fanbase and so does Batman. I’m sure there are many adults that can try to make it crazy money. Does it have to make a billion to be considered successful? The Batman by Reeves already looks more low budget than other super hero movies we’ve seen.
I’m pretty worn out from superhero flicks in general so I didn’t collapse from excitement seeing the trailer. I am kind of interested in seeing how far of a mystery it is gonna be or is it gonna devolve into your standard super hero affair that we’re used to these days. At the very least, I don’t foresee it becoming a CGI beam battle in the third act at least.
Yeah, i think @Bukdiah hit on the nose with the disecyion of the r rated superhero films we got right now. I dont think the Batman needs to be r rated. It definitely looks darker and if that’s the rating Matt Reeves wants i totally respect and encourage that. But i dont think anything ive seen so far NEEDS a r rating. Dark stories arent less mature or gritty because the aren’t exclusively adults.
So, no other movie did Batman well?
To say Joker is a remake of Taxi Driver and nothing more is an overly simplistic view of the movie in general. Sure, it makes references to several Martin Scorsese movies. It’s also no secret that Todd Phillips was heavily influenced by Martin Scorsese and his directorial style in general. But as you know now I’ve seen Joker multiple times and I get something new out of it every time. I find it very nuanced and it certainly bears multiple viewings. I imagine you could say the same thing about Taxi Driver, but I only saw that once and it was several years ago now. I suppose I’m due to watch it again sometime soon.
You may not be very excited about this movie But I am. The dark and gritty detective story that has yet to be told through Batman is something I’m quite excited about. I am hoping for a thriller game of cat and mouse, with a few cool fight scenes.
I Like The R-Rated Director’s Cuts Of Daredevil (2004) And Spawn (1998)
I agree with this. If it’s good then it’ll do good
I don’t think we need an R-rated cut, but if there is one that would be fine too. I’m just hoping that Batman doesn’t kill anyone in this film. I’m so tired of that part of him being thrown out the window for every film.
(Giving a severe beating to people, like the thug in the trailer, is totally fine and in character.)
The trailer definitely looked like it was taking inspiration from Seven, so an R rating would be appropriate.
Yeah, Joker is either the greatest thing ever by some people while others are confused by its high praise. Different strokes and whatnot.
Batman has many facets to him and him being a detective was never harped on due to time constraints of movies. I remember Nolan acknowledging that was one part of him that they could never get into. I’m curious as to how much of a mystery this will actually be since trailers are very misleading. The movie Drive starring Ryan Gosling was sued for false advertisement before since the trailer made it look like an action movie like Fast and Furious
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/drive-filmdistrict-lawsuit-ryan-gosling-245871
The Batman could work as either a R or PG-13 movie. I think the main difference would be a R movie would show murders on screen and gory crime scenes, while PG-13 would either cut away before the finishing strike or feature a bloodless death and just show character reactions to the scene or a scene without gore.
Maybe the studio will do something like what Deadpool 2 did and release two versions of the movie. Perhaps there will be a PG-13 theatrical version to appeal to a larger audience pool and pass international standards as well as an HBO Max exclusive rated R or unrated edition featuring extra scenes and content not seen in the theatrical version.
@tjm220, I found Joker to be a combination of “The King of Comedy” and “Taxi Driver”
@Grimmshade, would you accept accidental deaths?
I’m with Beagle
Joker definitely referenced both movies directly.
and DC ‘in-name-only’
When I was in theatre for both Deadpool movies, I saw so many kids - appalling frankly. I think it depends on what it is. Parents didn’t take their kids to Joker, as far as I could tell, probably because Deadpool is seen as a much more lighthearted R - mostly there for Jokes and whatnot. And that kids love him. With Batman, it could go either way. Doesn’t mean I’d find it any less appalling if they did, but it is definitely something I saw a lot of with Deadpool.
No. Leave it alone. I would rather watch a good movie than let them go all out with an R rating. It didn’t work for BOP. So they shouldn’t try it now.
Judging from the trailer I’m hoping for a movie that feels like it’s set in the same universe as Joker. I’m actually am hoping for an entire bat family of movies in the same vein as Joker. It just feels right
Why’s that?