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I didn't see a thread for this, soooo....
We already know Robert Pattinson has been chosen as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Although I think he might be able to pull it off, I'm still a little "meh". The only thing I've ever seen him in is the Harry Potter movies.
Now there was this bit of interesting rumor....
Matt Reeves Reportedly Met With Mahershala Ali To Play Commissioner Gordon In ‘The Batman’
My first thought on that was..."No way! Ali is too young. Gordon should be at least a decade older than Batman." Turns out, Ali is way older than I thought (around 45), and he's got a good 12 years on Pattinson.
My second thought was...why would you want an actor as Gordon who could upstage your lead. Then I remembered the last two pairings of Gordon/Batman actors, and realized they'd already done it.
I wonder if this fell through because of Disney snagging Ali for Blade.

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Watch The Lighthouse Pattison is a very good actor. He just has the Twilight stigma folowing him around.

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'The Batman' Targets Jeffrey Wright as Commissioner Gordon
A solid choice. I know I've seen him in some of the Daniel Craig Bond flicks, and he's been great in those. Not sure what else I might have seen him in, off the top of my head.

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I'll admit, my brain still had a lot of skepticism about this film.
Thankfully, I watched the trailer. While I still harbor a lot of cautiousness about the movie, it's now cautious optimism rather than skepticism.
This was one of the first Batman trailers I've ever seen that made me think they're putting the "Detective" into it in a big way. I got a grim, gritty, feel from this. I've even read some people describing it as Seven meets super-hero comics. And it definitely seems to be a darker turn for Riddler, of which I approve.
And I now have far less doubt that Pattinson will make a capable Batman.

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1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Just got back from seeing the movie.
My verdict - best Batman movie since the first Burton movie. Great story, solid to magnificent casting. I could definitely see the influences of the comic book stories the director claimed as inspiration.
The biggest criticisms I have are really more like nitpicking.
Maybe I’m crazy, but they seemed to say Martha was from the Arkham family. Martha Wayne is not supposed to be from the Arkham family. She was a Kane before she married Thomas.
I didn’t like him living in Wayne Tower instead of the Manor.

Tristan d'Ambrosius |

Just got back from seeing the movie.
My verdict - best Batman movie since the first Burton movie. Great story, solid to magnificent casting. I could definitely see the influences of the comic book stories the director claimed as inspiration.
The biggest criticisms I have are really more like nitpicking.
** spoiler omitted **

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I really liked Jeffrey Wrights's Gordon.
Indeed. It’s hard to explain, but when I first saw him on screen I just sort of felt how much he WAS Jim Gordon. Like he took the essence of the character from a comic book and wrapped it around himself. Weird, but that was the impression I got.

Mark Hoover 330 |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I enjoyed the movie. I agree his Bruce Wayne persona was lacking, but hopefully that's the sort of thing that will grow if we get more movies.
I really liked Jeffrey Wrights's Gordon.
Couldn't agree more on Gordon. I actually kind of liked how under-developed Bruce was, like it was so early in his career that the "Bruce" persona hadn't really been cultivated yet.
My girls saw it with me. Their only critique was the length of it. For me, I really liked the noir/mystery touches, focusing on the "world's greatest detective" tagline.

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I’d heard about the deleted scene where Batman consults with Joker. I’m kind both glad they kept it out, and kind of bummed. Glad because I thought it would be too much Joker in the movie, and because I thought his make-up looked terrible. Kind of bummed because I like the reference to there being an anniversary, indicating they’ve already clashed.

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I finally saw this yesterday. It was overall really good, but I was really bothered by how often Batman gets shot and just doesn't care. At least three times, he gets shot and keeps standing there. Batman getting shot should at least get a reaction. Ideally, Batman uses stealth and brains to take out gunmen before they shoot.

Quark Blast |
I finally saw this yesterday. It was overall really good, but I was really bothered by how often Batman gets shot and just doesn't care. At least three times, he gets shot and keeps standing there. Batman getting shot should at least get a reaction. Ideally, Batman uses stealth and brains to take out gunmen before they shoot.
He's an angry young man. By the time he's Batffleck he's well past his MMA phase and more into defeating opponents via 4D chess.
:D
Best film of the year so far. Best film noir (albeit in color) in my lifetime.
Won't get at many Oscars as Dune did though.

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Felt like the influenced by Batman movie. Touch of Bladerunner detective noir, dark rainy crime ridden city with emo rock like the crow, cat and mouse like game between the riddler like the Dark Knight... Great influences and I really liked the film, but I dont think it has its own identity, which will keep it from being considered a great movie.
Cast was excellent, and I liked a more introverted Batman we got from Patterson. Turturro proved, once again, he is a real underrated actor that out did himself in this film (so much presence!). Colin Ferrell's Penguin gave a real comic book almost Dick Tracy feel.
I was disappointed in Kravitz catwoman, not by her acting, but I feel the writing let her down. The character felt like she was there to move the plot around and be a cosplay doll. Jeffrey Wright's Gordon had the same issue. How many times does Gordon repeat, slowly, exactly what the audience just saw, knew, and read before he mutters it out? Also, why does anyone in the police force put up with Gordon? They clearly hate him and his friendship with Batman, but they just allow Gordon a wide berth.
Overall, a good solid addition to the Bat flicks.

Irontruth |
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I liked it.
It had some of the grittiness of the Nolan series, but the philosophy of Batman was definitely different. There's still a failure in addressing that philosophy... investing however much money he spends fighting crime into a jobs program would likely reduce crime by several orders of magnitude more than one guy being a badass on the streets. But at least the movie looks at the efficacy to some degree.
It could have used a little more variation in the music.
As for "movie of the year", I don't think this holds any sort of candle to Everything Everywhere All at Once. I don't know if that one will be the best movie of the year, but it was the most fun I've had in a theater in many, many years. My eyes genuinely hurt after the movie, caused by the combination of laughing and crying so much.

thejeff |
There's still a failure in addressing that philosophy... investing however much money he spends fighting crime into a jobs program would likely reduce crime by several orders of magnitude more than one guy being a badass on the streets. But at least the movie looks at the efficacy to some degree.
It would be interesting to see a take on Batman that didn't focus as much on the pouring money into his crusade. Even if he's always been rich, money being his superpower wasn't really his thing until fairly modern takes on him. (Fairly modern for a character that's ~90 years old.)
At least to start with - you can bring in the gadgets to help cope with the more extreme supervillains that come along. Not like a jobs program would really help with the sometimes super-powered monsters that Gotham attracts.

Quark Blast |
Felt like the influenced by Batman movie. Touch of Bladerunner detective noir, dark rainy crime ridden city with emo rock like the crow, cat and mouse like game between the riddler like the Dark Knight... Great influences and I really liked the film, but I dont think it has its own identity, which will keep it from being considered a great movie.
Now that they've green-lit the sequel it might get it's own identity as a package of two or three or four movies. I think Honest Trailers makes a case for this being the most noir of the franchise, and that's a start on it having a unique identity.
Cast was excellent, and I liked a more introverted Batman we got from Patterson. Turturro proved, once again, he is a real underrated actor that out did himself in this film (so much presence!). Colin Ferrell's Penguin gave a real comic book almost Dick Tracy feel.
They were well directed and don't feel derivative of anything that's come before. Though I've not seen all of the pre-Nolan films... in fact, maybe only the very first one. It's just too bad that superhero and scifi films don't ever get proper recognition for their actors. Ian McKellen killed it as Gandalf in the first LotR movie but had no real chance of winning Best Supporting Actor.
I was disappointed in Kravitz catwoman, not by her acting, but I feel the writing let her down. The character felt like she was there to move the plot around and be a cosplay doll. Jeffrey Wright's Gordon had the same issue. How many times does Gordon repeat, slowly, exactly what the audience just saw, knew, and read before he mutters it out? Also, why does anyone in the police force put up with Gordon? They clearly hate him and his friendship with Batman, but they just allow Gordon a wide berth.
Cosplay doll (aka Selina Kyle) was Catwoman's persona to be able to move in the underworld unnoticed as she planned out her next job. This movie is really the setup for Catwoman as a main player.
I saw Gordon as a guy who has no internal monologue and so mumbles out-loud what he's thinking. I expect he's tolerated on the force for two main reasons. One, he has dirt on most of them. Two, he's an effective, if eccentric, detective.
Overall, a good solid addition to the Bat flicks.
Kudos for the director for making a 3-hour movie that didn't creep along.
.
At least to start with - you can bring in the gadgets to help cope with the more extreme supervillains that come along. Not like a jobs program would really help with the sometimes super-powered monsters that Gotham attracts.
A jobs program isn't really comics accurate either. That would be a whole different movie. Nor, IRL, does something like that actually solve the problem. Helps maybe if instituted among a plethora of other efforts, but even then doesn't "solve it". People are too complex for that kind of fix. Bill Gates rather proved that with the billions of dollars he spent on education. IIRC his schools were audited a decade later and got a "C" grade despite all the money and latest tech being thrown at the kids.

Irontruth |

At least to start with - you can bring in the gadgets to help cope with the more extreme supervillains that come along. Not like a jobs program would really help with the sometimes super-powered monsters that Gotham attracts.
Who was the super villain that caused Bruce Wayne to invent the character of the Batman in this movie? Maybe I missed it.
Falcone was ultimately responsible for some of the events, but Bruce was unaware of his actions until the end of the movie.
The Riddler didn't start his first crime spree until 2 years after the Batman started his night patrols.
The Penguin was just a small-time club owner.
The concept of super-powered monsters doesn't currently exist in this movie.

thejeff |
thejeff wrote:
At least to start with - you can bring in the gadgets to help cope with the more extreme supervillains that come along. Not like a jobs program would really help with the sometimes super-powered monsters that Gotham attracts.Who was the super villain that caused Bruce Wayne to invent the character of the Batman in this movie? Maybe I missed it.
Falcone was ultimately responsible for some of the events, but Bruce was unaware of his actions until the end of the movie.
The Riddler didn't start his first crime spree until 2 years after the Batman started his night patrols.
The Penguin was just a small-time club owner.
The concept of super-powered monsters doesn't currently exist in this movie.
Which is why I started with "It would be interesting to see a take on Batman that didn't focus as much on the pouring money into his crusade."
I didn't say "And that's what this movie was."
Even inventing the character of the Batman doesn't require a billionaire's fortune - the combat and detective skills along with some basic iconic gear could be enough, costing far less than funding a jobs program.
Edit: I was responding to your specific comment about the failure of the Batman philosophy and common complaints along the same lines, rather than anything about this movie specifically.

Irontruth |

Sure, my comments were specifically about this movie, not about the general Batman oeuvre.
The conceit is that Batman is trying to solve crime in general. Common crimes, like robbery, mugging, assault, etc.
The movie does address the violent vs supportive dynamic. For example, the first person he saves is afraid of him, and the movie ends with Batman using light to lead people to safety. I think that's actually a good dynamic, but I also think the movie could have gone slightly further. For example, some comments from the young new mayor about how the city needs to focus more on helping people and less on caped crusaders. My guess is that the writers/directors/studio may have nixed that because it would too accurately reflect some of the recent political tensions in the real world, but at least overtly acknowledging these ideas from the real world would have made it feel even more relevant and real IMO.
Partly, I think this would make it resonate more because no Batman movie is going to be a timeless classic. They're always making a new Batman, so just trying to reflect the time of it's making would help Batman continuously feel relevant. He can be a very malleable character, and it'd be cool to see that used more.