The Batman (Matt Reeves) ***spoilers from post 1030***

Sirsok

Deleted....

orecir

Really enjoyed it. A fantastic cast is its main strength. Really look forward to seeing what they do next.

I for one Really enjoyed the ending and thought it was badly needed to show us why the batman is needed.

Do agree though with time issues. They could of knocked 20 minutes off the runtime.

PTH2009

Spoiler Warning

Saw it today and was very impressed. We definitely got fooled a bit assuming that the Penguin was the main baddy but it was the Riddler really (who Paul Dano played brilliantly). It was not your usual batman film and loved the darkness to it

Mixed feelings about the joker reveal esp with the amount of Joker characters on the scene now. Only so much can be done with that character imo and having this new one along with Phoenix's one and the dreadful Jared Leto one really might fatigue thr character

JP Liz V1

HBO Max going ahead with Penguin spin off tv series with Colin F

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118759050#Comment_118759050

I dunno. I feel like the joker is just too intrinsically part of Batman to not have him mentioned at all.

I would love to see him be brought in for another few minutes in the next one as well, but to be the main baddie in the third (I do hope this is a trilogy)

mightyreds

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118756756#Comment_118756756

I thought the ending felt a little tacked on, I think it was there to give him something to do as he didn't really solve anything else all film 😂😂

artvanderlay

I enjoyed it. 7/10. Looking forward to a sequel which will hopefully have Bruce as a more integral part of Gotham society. It reminded me of Seven in terms of look and tone, and especially how Dano calmly revealed himself to the police (in the diner), a la John Doe. I'd have liked it a lot more if it had had a harder edge with bad guys dying rather than Batman's no kill policy: a bit silly imo and something that needs to be updated for film versions. Turturro was miscast, and Farrell was doing a lower level De Niro/Capone in Untouchables impression. Pattinson and Wright were great. Kravitz held her own very well. Dano could have been scarier: he came across like a pathetic incel by the end. Would like to have seen him with a colder demeanour. Run time was excessive but not by much - it was no Irishman! Overall a good night out.

The Golden Miller

Spoiler Warning

Another Joker ffs? How many is that in the last few years alone. More Jokers than any hero. How many different takes can you do? Between the stand alone Joker film, the DCEU, and this, we've 3 on the go.

Joker isn't DCs flagship villain anymore, or Batman's biggest rival, he's now DCs biggest draw in general. He's surpassed all their superheroes

johnny_ultimate

Mod note: I've spoilered that last comment just in case. However, I'll add a spoiler warning to the thread title now - no need for spoiler tags from here on out. Proceed with caution if you haven't seen the film yet.

kerplun k

So question that I have. The 2 passports at the end? Was that a riddle and did anyone figure it out?

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118760664#Comment_118760664

from the brief image we could see on screen, looks like Keoghan Joker might be modelled on "The Killing Joke" joker.... which wouldn't be a bad thing at all

banie01

This is going to be spoiler free review I hope. Despite plenty already out there.

Saw this last night. Very much an adaptation of the long Halloween that would possibly have been a rival to TDK as best Batman movie, if it finished 20 minutes earlier.

Too much time at the end spent world building for a sequel IMO.

Enjoyed it, tho Pattinson is very much an Emo-Batman.

Decent score, very interesting cinematography too.

Reminiscent of the Joker in its pallet and focus pulls.

Solid 7/10 movie.

D.C have improved the fight scenes and they were very good. That said?

Still really lagging behind the likes of Daredevil and Punisher but a big step up other recent DC efforts IMO (That said I've yet to watch Peacemaker.

It's more a detective movie than a Superhero movie IMO.

Yes there's a huge suspension of disbelief, but little in the way of overpowered superhero fights.

But it's batman baby, so there's a gadget or 3 and the grapple gun.

Visually it really does evoke a 70's Serpico/French Connection style New York as it's interpretation of Gotham, with nods to modernity in phones and tech. Sets up a real Arkham city feel and if you are old enough to have enjoyed the game, I think there's a few probably unintended Easter eggs that tie that lore and story to this.

Lefty2Guns

Seen it Wednesday night myself. Like most I enjoyed it but the running time was way too long. It didn't need to go on for that long, a lot of scenes were not required.

I thought Pattinson done a good job as Bruce Wayne. Paul Dano was very good also and I loved Farrellers Penguin. (defo DeNiro/Capone Untouchables inspired)

Homelander

Thought it was pretty good and fairly grounded - sort of a Batman detective noir.

Pattinson was great, cast in general was solid and the score was memorable, particularly the underlying main theme. Doesn't hit the notes of The Dark Knight, but overall pretty rock solid and I didn't find it too long.

Could fat have been trimmed? Sure, but it's an easy watch with a good pace.....didn't drag or feel obnoxiously long to me personally at any point.

Definitely hangs very close to Nolan's trilogy, I'd say I preferred it to Batman Begins or The Dark Knight Rises.

Sudden Valley

Thought it was very good but disappointed that all the great set pieces were in the trailers. Also krsvitz was very good so was pity that she just disappeared for half an hour in the middle of the movie as catwoman generally appears only once in any of the batman film series. Plot did not justify three hour running time.

Everlong1

Tedious pretentious toss. Very disappointed. 12 euros and 3 hours of my life that I'll never have back. Like an earlier poster I'm baffled as to how so many seem to like this.

ThePott

Saw this last weekend and I'm conflicted.

In some ways this was the best pure "Batman" film, having him be a detective navigating the Gotham criminal underworld rife with burgeoning villains is excellent. The flip side of that is that detective/noir stories can often be messy as they meander and at times feel slow or aimless. I thought Pattinson and Kravitz were great. felt Dano's performance was a little broad and obvious and as much as having him be less present in the film helped build the world and focus on the characterisation of Batman it made him the villain less interesting and think it showed the most in the ending (which felt out of place).

Less said about the "Arkham scene" the better imo. That being said still liked it enough just didn't love it like I wanted to.

As I often do I've done a video review where I go into my thoughts on the film in more detail, if anyone cares to watch.

https://youtu.be/RO48WFK0_bk

errlloyd

I had a lot of thoughts leaving the cinema. I really liked the tone, the shooting, the dialogue (mostly), the acting and the score. Based on those alone it is a 7 out of 10 Batman. But the feeling I couldn't shake is that it absolutely needed to be two films, not because it was too long but because it was two plots that make sense as sequential plots, but we were written as parallel plots. Another film might have given it some more time to actually earn the emotional payoffs that it gave us - which I don't think it did. I wasn't too concerned for Andy Serkis when it exploded, or Batman when jumped for the electric cable, and I didn't feel that much when Bruce and Selina drove their motorbikes down the driveway then separated. So indulge me slightly, but here is what I would have done.

We had a great limited crime / detective / noir movie until the point Falcone dies. That is the point I'd have ended the movie. How does that leave our characters?

Batman has uncovered the truth behind the death of his parents. He is still a little ashamed of his father's legacy and now feels he has to be a bit more Bruce Wayne in order to create the world Thomas Wayne wanted.

Selina has avenged the murder of her mother without getting her hands dirty, she's glad to close the chapter but feels unsatisfied by the result. She's now family-less, friend-less and job-less. The Batman is all she's got and she doesn't even know who he is, now she has to decide whether to hitch to his bandwagon (unaware he's a rich white dude considering going in another direction).

At this point all the Riddler has done is kill corrupt officials and mob bosses - the people of Gotham really don't know who the bad guy is. The Riddler to them is almost just another vigilante, he's a bit more violent than Batman, but he's also a lot more socialist. He thinks he has successfully cut the head off the corruption of Gotham and fleas but remains at large.

The Penguin is an opportunist and he's ready to move into the organized crime vacuum.

Gordon has an increased trust for Batman - but many of the men in his unit have an annoying admiration for the Riddler.

Then I'd have had movie two.

It'd take place a few years later.

Now the most important reason I'd do this is to tie out those plot lines - they ALL neatly tie out. I could have left the cinema happy. But the second reason is that I don't think the riddler's plot makes sense. Why set yourself up as the corruption destroying good guy (plot 1). And then immediately flood the city and do a mass shooting including killing some good guys (plot 2). I think in the intervening period the Riddler gets frustrated that Gotham doesn't change and PARTICULARLY frustrated that Bruce Wayne his only surviving target returns to public life shiting on about Renewal again. He builds his little darkweb incel army, and creates the larger plot. This plot is more about vengeance. The first part of movie two details a little more of the re-construction of Wayne's legacy, shows us the growth of the penguin, shows us a hint of a desire from bruce to have a real romantic relationship with Selina, and has another detective style plot that follows explosives being smuggled in / dark web messages being intercepted. But this time the detective trail leads to the larger plot. The larger plot is; flooding the city, killing the new mayor and Bruce Wayne. And after an hour of world and plot building the movie basically finishes exactly how The Batman finishes. Bruce rescues drowning children, Selina either gets frustrated he never takes off the mask, or doesn't like Bruce Wayne when he does. Their separation actually hurts.

pixelburp

An hour or so out from the cinema and my first, initial reaction is that it was a messy, mixed bag. A handsome, brooding beast whose baggy run time tested my patience, while its inspirations sometimes bordered on the brazen. But when it worked it had an undeniable glowering bravado.

I do now want to rewatch Seven.

OU812

Saw it today. Totally unnecessary.

Would have liked it if they’d hitched it into the “Joker” timeline/universe.

Equally, they could have dumped all the Batman’s stuff/characters, ramped it to an 18 cert and had a very decent thriller.

Pattison looks brilliant in the mask, stupid as Wayne.

I would say Pattinson is the best Batman, Keaton the best Wayne.

The film was quite good, the noir detective majority was good, the superhero universe and character beginning to understand himself in the last 20% I didn't enjoy.

AMKC

So I only just watched the trailer for this. What a load of Rubbish with a big R. They could not even come up with a cool Batcar. The Thumbler from Christopher Nolans Films are the best ones and they shall remain the best Batman films ever. This rubbish certainly is not going to be better than them and whoever the actor is in this will never be as good as Christian Bales Batman. Honestly this Rubbish deserves to be a flop. Hell they could not even give it a decent name. Pure laziness.

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118760267#Comment_118760267

There will be no 2nd or 3rd film to this Rubbish. It deserves to be a flop and certainly does not deserve 3 films.

ThePott

I think the whole point was that Pattinson's Wayne is not distinct.

He has nothing outside his life as Batman and it's consumed him. He also is so early on in his career as a vigilante that he hasn't realised the benefit of having the Bruce Wayne 'persona'. Something to deflect attention from the possibility that he is Batman. Right now, if someone had to guess who the crazy weirdo with seemingly endless resources is they'd probably guess it's the loner weirdo who has endless resources.

I think it will develop over time.

FunLover18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118776384#Comment_118776384

How very open minded of you.

johnny_ultimate

Personally, I’d like to think most people would do the bare minimum of actually watching a film before coming onto an online forum to declare it ‘Rubbish with a capital R’.

I was just loling at the "batcar" That was the best introduction to the batmobile ever. Some sound in imax.

Ave Sodalis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118776488#Comment_118776488

This is my thoughts on it too. Pattinson's Wayne is not a good Wayne because Pattinson's Batman is not a good Wayne. He's too young and green at the moment to do both, although he does realise by the end of the movie that he is more than just Batman. For most of the movie though, he doesn't want to acknowledge the Wayne side. He only wants to be Batman, and he feels being Bruce Wayne is actually getting in the way of that, rather than realising it as being the asset it is.

That's something I liked about the fight style in this movie too. It's not a perfectly choreographed one sided beat down. This is a, as I said, young and green Batman. You can see he has a lot of potential, yes but he's still developing into the Batman we know.

kerplun k

Yep, I thought that was the whole point to the henchmens vengeance comment near the end. Batman realises at that point he has to be more than Batman, in order to clean up Gotham it will require a duel effort from Wayne/Batman.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118776376#Comment_118776376

Reeves and co, take note.