I was admittedly a little hard on the flick when the early trailers were released and on how the movie being grounded was making it look like re-heated leftovers from The Dark Knight Trilogy. I admit this with absolutely zero hesitation.
Then that Bat and Cat trailer came out (alongside the merchandise) and I got excited for the flick for the first time.
Having seen the movie (with wicked-rad Dolby Atmos audio, which made my chair vibrate in the best way), what’d I think?
It was…OUTSTANDING (and that’s what my buddy thought of it, as well).
The Batman was exactly the kind of David Fincher (famous filmmaker, look 'im up if you’re unaware of him)-style Batman movie I’ve been wanting since the early '00s.
In fact, you could show scenes of this movie and Fincher’s best side by side, and to those unaware, they’d likely say The Batman was of Fincher’s hand.
Anyhow, I loved everything about the flick, just everything!
As an ardent Batman fan, it just felt like a living, breathing, noir-esque comic come to life and a perfect on-screen encapsulation of what we think of Batman when it comes to the comics, from a general POV.
I was definitely reminded of Ego, but also some of Ed Brubaker’s work, and not just his work on Batman, but Gotham Central and Catwoman, too.
Two of my favorite Easter eggs were the name drops of Blackgate and Bludhaven (the Nightwing Nerd in me especially liked that one). They didn’t add anything to the story, but when you’re a nerd about this stuff, those are the kind of things that send a happy little charge throughout your person, make you smile and say “Cool!” to yourself.
As a movie geek, The Batman was overflowing with goodness. Great Rao, from the cinematography, to the music, the composition of scenes, the sound design, it was all GRAND.
I have to say, I was still on the fence about the movie as I literally walked into the giant auditorium I saw it in, but afterward, I left with a figurative, ear to ear smile on my face because The Batman was GREAT.
As for rankings, I’d place it as follows:
Filmmaking
- The Dark Knight
- The Batman
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Entertainment value
- Batman Forever
- The Dark Knight
- The Batman/Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
IDK if I’ll see the flick in theaters again, but if time, funds and interest should allow, sure, why not? It was great in laser projection and Dolby Atmos the first go-around, so why not do it again? 
As for a sequel, I really hope we get a new to live-action villain (or villains). Reeves scratched the itch for using villains well-known to non-comic fan audiences, but for any sequel(s), let’s dive into the comics and use villains who have little to no live-action adaptations to their credit.
Clayface would fit in quite well for starters. A guy who can literally make over his physical identity is just begging to be used in a Batman movie where mystery is the flavor of the piece.
If Reeves must stick with well-known villains seen in live-action, then I could go for his take on Mr. Freeze and/or Bane. Previous adaptations of those two have their merits (yes, even SchwarzeFreeze 
), but I don’t feel we’ve yet had definitive LA takes on Mr. Freeze or Bane. I bet Reeves would hit homers with one, or both, of them.
That said, let’s use new to live-action villains for the follow-ups, because Batman has a huge rogue’s gallery and many of those lesser-known characters will become household names if you just, you know, feature them in a movie.
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