Official Batman Movie Discussion Thread! (Spoilers!)

I just walked out of the movie. Like right now.

Did not like it all that much. Your post makes me feel a little vindicated; just thought I’d say you’re not alone.

More later when I get home :slightly_smiling_face:

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This was my biggest issue as well. All the momentum was finding and stopping Riddler, then the movie had what felt like a reset and multiple potential end points.

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Yea. Copy-cat crazies coming out of the woodwork was an original twist, but not ideal for the point in the movie they went that direction. For one thing, I didn’t really believe they posed a challenge for Batman.

But I have to confess I’ve never felt serial killers work as a convincing threat in Batman comics either. So for Riddler to hold my interest at all meant they were doing a lot right.

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OK, I have sat and thought about it for a couple days.

I think this might be my favorite live action Batman movie of all time. I’d have to rewatch it and a couple others to fully say this but for now, I do feel comfortable saying it.

I’ll start with my couple of small dislikes. At first I didn’t like the change to Martha. But I haven’t read Earth One and since that seems to come from that, I don’t mind that as much anymore. Though, this does kind of write off Kate Kane as a potential possibility here, but I don’t think they are concerned with other Batfam members at this moment.

Second dislike was the Joker cameo. I just want a Batman movie without him. Please? Honestly, it was well done and I think I will like the actor as the Joker when it happens. But enough was in this movie already. We didn’t need the cameo.

Those two things aside. I loved everything else. The acting, the score, the cinematography, the plot, the focus on detective work was really nice.

I think my favorite part was that Batman didn’t have all the answers. He didn’t figure it out on time. This isn’t the experienced Batman who know everything. He is still learning.

The scene as he is figuring out about the bombs and they just go off was beautiful. You don’t see that a lot in superhero movies. The hero always saves the day. They always solve the riddle and save the lives. It didn’t totally happen here. He eventually saved a lot of people. But he was technically too late. He didn’t save as many as he could have.

There were also a ton of characters but they all got their moment. I don’t feel like anyone got less time than they deserved. I also felt like I knew each of these characters from the moment we saw them on screen. And not just because I read comics but because of how they were portrayed.

How Gordon just walked Batman into a crime scene, how Penguin just walked up to Batman and told him to stop fighting in his club, how Alfred changed a meeting to be at the manor instead of at Wayne Enterprises because he knew Bruce wouldn’t go. Small things between the writing and the acting that made this movie fantastic.

And I loved this version of Riddler. Right from the beginning you know it’s going to be crazy and it goes way beyond that. He had it all planned out and wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty in the process. It was really well done.

Yeah, this was a long movie but I don’t think it dragged at all. It had the right balance of action, mystery, suspense, confusion and twists. There were some fun easter eggs for long time fans but nothing confusing for people who might be watching their first Batman movie.

I’ll stop rambling, but A+ movie. I’ll watch it again when with comes on HBO MAX, maybe more than once.

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First off, as a DC fan, I’m glad the movie got the reviews it did and that financial success is seemingly about to follow. DC’s success means more DC stories being told… I just hope I enjoy some of the upcoming stuff more than I enjoyed this one.

This was just, I’m sorry…boring. The action was scarce. The dialogue was whispered. Bruce/Batman was not very charismatic or awe inspiring. The movie was very slow and the tone was depressing.

I liked the Batmobile chase. I liked the wide shots of Gotham. I liked the insinuation at the end that Batman needs to be more about giving people hope than about vengeance. Overall though, I wouldn’t recommend this. I wanted Batman and got a mix of “Se7en” and a generic gangster movie.

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TL;DR best Batman movie ever.

“Which comics do you think inspired The Batman the most?”
Batman year one, Batman the long Halloween, and Batman cataclysm.

“How do you feel about this new take on The Riddler’s aesthetic and methods?”
Really liked the look, The mask left a little bit to be desired but it fit the tone of the movie, also I really liked the puzzles and riddles remind me of the Arkham games.

“How does Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Batman change your view of the character, if at all?”
Pattinson Has the definitive fighting style and physique for Batman.

“Any thoughts on the new version of Batman’s suit? What about his Batmobile?”
They’re both amazing. Pattinson looked badass in the suit, and the Batmobile looked and sounded beautiful.

“How do you feel about the score/composition of the film’s music?”
It was awesome, definitely gonna be listening to it while I work out.

“What do you think about the variant book covers inspired by The Batman ? Are you planning on picking them up?”
They’re cool, but I’m not just gonna get comics I’m not really interested in just for the covers.

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I also loved how we just saw Pattinson in the Batsuit in the majority of the movie where we get to see him be pushed to his limits and expand on his detective skills. But what I found really interesting is that Bruce was always carrying the Batsuit in his backpack while he rides on his motorcycle. He was always on the prowl but he was always in plain sight so everyone saw him there, but no one would have a clue where the Batman, giving a sense that Batman could be anyone amongst the crowd.

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  • How do you feel about this new take on The Riddler’s aesthetic and methods?
    It worked and updated the character into top echelon. Riddler turn here is IRON MAN style, he will now be an A list villain henceforward. I think in ways he was performing the function that BANE was advertised to do in TDKR and they overthought it
  • How does Robert Pattinson’s portrayal of Batman change your view of the character, if at all?
    I think RP and Matt Reeves cracked the character for the modern era. I am a batman fatigued consumer who have been increasingly judgmental about the character and i think they found a novel way to make it work while keeping all the core elements. His hero’s journey was the most deeply felt for me in all these types of movies, and having him confronting the myth of his deceased family worked so very well
  • Any thoughts on the new version of Batman’s suit? What about his Batmobile?
    Suit was fine but the BATMOBILE RULED!!! that was a real highlight. A real car souped up grounded
  • How do you feel about the score/composition of the film’s music?
    I liked a lot though i did hit a moment toward the end where i got a touch tired of the the heavy noted bat theme

Final notes are spoiler as heck so i’ll hide but I loved the HUSH set up, the BANE Set up, didn’t like the JOKER set up but the actor is more than capable (See KILLING OF A SACRED DEER if you doubt me) PENGUIN was wonderful, and the petulance of bruce with alfred was wonderful but deserved a better payoff. Finally I think this movie did the best job of making me care about a billionaire than any previous iteration in this or marvel universe. CANNOT WAIT TO SEE AGAIN and can’t get SOMETHING’S IN MY WAY out of my head. Glad it’s doing well but every LA screening is sold out for any good format screening

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Yes, that’s the movie’s saving grace. And I appreciate that the film trusts the audience to understand the point of the movie without resorting to the clumsy “Philosophy 101: no one actually speaks like this” dialogue of the Christopher Nolan films. Plus, the story’s theme actually made it to the final cut, so this film also has an edge over Batman Forever (#releasetheschumachercut).

But it’s nowhere near the best Batman movie. Not even close.

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Yeah, like I said I’m with you.

I’m actually curious to see what they do going forward. What does this element of “hope” add to the narrative in upcoming movies? It’s possible that when viewed as part of a whole, I may end up liking it more than I did.

I lost, like 5 minutes of sleep last night… how dare I leave a negative take on a Batman movie where everyone is singing its praises to the nines? It’s not “bad”; just not my cup of tea.

One last thing: I loved seeing him with the public, especially in daylight at the end, something we don’t get a lot of in any medium.

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I feel Reeves’ The Batman movie was a film that captured an essential quality of the character. Superb and masterful. Congratulations to all involved in it’s production! And I LOVED the DIY Batmobile! :batparrot: :00_batman_1992: :batman_hv_3: :halloween_batman: :thumbs_up_batman:

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@AlexanderKnox

:stuck_out_tongue:

Well, Pattinson has talked about how he’d love to have a Robin in his movies. Of course, his next sentence mentioned “Death In The Family”, so…could go either way.

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His interactions with the public in the last third of the film worked pretty well for me. I can’t really say the same about his interactions with the police in the first two-thirds of the film. The investigation of the first victim almost felt like a scene from a teen comedy, with Gordon as the popular guy at school who invites his nerdy, socially-awkward friend to the big party: “No, Batman: we’re not into D&D. Stop asking.”

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Some of the cops, maybe, but I loved the comradery that Batman had with Gordon in this. While I appreciate them kind of moving past the early origin stuff, I would love to see how these two met in this world.

Speaking of, I loved how they made a story that works by itself but left enough open for a franchise. Like before I wasn’t sure if I wanted a Penguin miniseries, but now I’m down for it.

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I liked it well enough. It’s a beautiful story of an honest cop and his LARPing friend. :wink:

Speaking of Pattinson being a total dork in the role, I have to comment on the first scene we see him unmasked, where he’s in the Batcave reviewing the video from his contact lenses. (Side note: Real Batmen wear glasses in their Batcave.) We see him down in the basement with his John Connor T2 haircut, black makeup around his eyes, and a moody disposition. Alfred comes down, and Bruce essentially says, “You’re not my real dad!” And I was led to conclude that the one thing missing from the scene was a Marilyn Manson poster on the wall. :stuck_out_tongue:

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I mean…yes, Batman is a LARPer in an eternal Goth/Emo phase. I fail to see the problem with this. :rofl:

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Speaking of franchise stuff, just saw a video of Reeves saying that the GCPD show they were developing has morphed into a “horror house” Arkham Asylum series and…shut up and take my money.

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Well, to be nice for a moment, I will admit that it gives Bruce a nice little coming-of-age story arc, where he goes from being an angsty, unlikeable antisocial weirdo to a guy who takes responsibility for his actions and tries to be a selfless, aspirational hero. He even almost gets a girlfriend, which feels like a big accomplishment for him. :wink:

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After Patti Jenkins got eviscerated for the running time of WW 1984, and now - on the very next DC hero flick - Matt Reeves threatens to sink his own masterpiece by having it meander leisurely off into the sunset, it almost makes you pray for a return of the brutal, cigar-chomping studio boss
clooney slap

…though the curtailed running time turned out very bad for Whedon’s Justice League and for Suicide Squad.

I still can’t imagine it didn’t occur to most at Warner Brothers that the film doesn’t need a quicker pace as it rounds the last turn. There are still great moments past the two-hour mark just not anything like fifty minutes worth of them.

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The movie had so much going for it. The cinematography was incredible, the gangsters were incredible, Gotham itself was great, the batmobile had so much character. But then there was the Riddler… such a weak villain compared to the enthrall of the Gangsters and Gotham herself. The Riddler was practically background noise.
The over the top horror murder stuff was not needed. Why listen to the recording twice of the strangling?
Also, the script for Bruce Wayne was HORRIBLE. We got our best Batman and our worse Bruce Wayne. I don’t think its Robert’s fault either, the writers were horrible.
But the boots! oh man, the boots were incredible. Catwoman and Batman’s relationship was so insanely good. I don’t know how to feel as far as ranking it but it had a TON of good things. It just stinks that Riddler was outshined so thoroughly by Penguin, Carmine, Catwoman, and the Batman himself.

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