The Batman (Matt Reeves, March 4, 2022) Movie • Page 6

Ah, I loved the first two seasons of Arrow so that's cool. Yeah, from what I hear she's a great person. I saw her interview when they had her on Collider Heroes.

I didn't even read the list that WB is supposedly considering, it's probably all the same directors that are always cycled through.

 

God, I forgot about the spine punch and the leg brace thing. But man oh man if that first Bane/Batman fight scene wasn't something special.

There was literally no reason for Bane to leave Batman alive at that point. I get that he wanted to break him blah blah blah but his actions were similar to the Joker in this regard. The Joker wanted to mentally torment him while Bane did so physically.

You'd think they could have done something at least a little different.

 

The first Bane vs Batman fight was probably the only saving grace of the movie. Don't get me started on the entire 3rd act or the waste of screen time Gordon and JGL's character got.

 

If Villneuve signs on... holy hell.

 

I remember that. I just assume that DC wants a tight control over this Batman movie, since their others have been such critical dumpster fires, so I figure they wouldn't be inclined to give over the necessary creative control to get someone like Aronofsky.

I like what I've seen of Matt Reeves, though.

 

She directed the S4 episode "Beyond Redemption," which had a fantastic scene between Ollie and Lance.

 

I remember that one, that was good. S4 was miles ahead of 3, but I felt lost its way towards the end despite a good opening half.

 

Reeves or Villeneuve would be so dope.

 

Studios have given directors with less work a chance at big movies, so I have hope she'll land something one of these days.

 

Between the critical and commercial failure of Punisher: War Zone (in spite of it slowly finding an audience over the years), Hollywood sexism, and her vocal critiques of Hollywood ignorance, she definitely has a lot against her.

Still, she's spoken well of her experience with Kevin Feige on War Zone in the past. She's also good friends with Scott Derrickson, Patton Oswald, and a lot of comic book industry people. If the Chris Benoit film is well received, maybe something like Black Widow could be on the table. (With how much she advocates for Arabs in non-terrorist roles, she'd probably be a great choice for a film like that.)

 

Kind of relieved with this move. Affleck has been my favorite on screen Batman. I've been feeling like the pressure has been getting to it, and regardless of what they say, I'm sure Live By Night didn't help.

 

Can we honestly just forget the DCEU and make a Batman series with Affleck?

Also how would you guys feel about Leto coming back as Joker? I didn't hate him as much as everyone else did but I think he deserves a chance in a good movie, he had a lot of potential imo

 

As far as I'm concerned, Leto's Joker was the most irredeemable crap stain in that whole movie and should never come back again, unless it's to be immediately killed off and replaced with a new Joker.

Like, I would give Enchantress another chance before Leto's Joker without a second's hesitation. No hyperbole.

 

I really want to see more of this Joker, but don't want him to be the center of any film. Like in SS, I'd like him to randomly pop in and throw a wrench into whatever is going on. It's the Joker way.

 

I think there's potential with Leto, but he didn't have much to work with in SS in terms of script. And he needs to stop with the stupid method acting antics so people aren't sour on him before they even see the movie.

 

I think its fine that he did it, but the media reported on it for a year straight which became way too much. We haven't seen him and Batman have a scene together really, so I'd like to see one of those before I pass any real judgment. I honestly thought his side story of getting the explosive in Harley's head disabled and setting up a rescue worked better than the main storyline in SS.

 

I haven't seen enough Leto acting to have a strong opinion of him, but I do remember @Nathan having a really long post in one of these DC threads that articulated my feelings on his Joker better than I had while also comparing it to other performances of his. Something about his performances being too surface level without any depth (before even considering the writing). Based on that, I doubt Leto has a good Joker in him.

Sucks 'cause there's literally never been a theatrical Joker beforehand that didn't work really well within his film. He worked in '66, in '89, in Phantasm, and in TDK, each in a pretty different way. And, with a better actor, I even think that the whole Spring Breakers gangster vibe could've worked for the character.

 

Design/makeup and writing were about 80% of my issues with Leto's Joker. If they completely redesign his look and he has a decent script I'd be willing to give him another shot, even though I generally don't like him as an actor.

 

I remember wanting Robert Knepper to be Joker. I think he could've been good, if not a little too old for the role.

 

I thought his looked bad in pics before the movie, but then his first scene where they are in the club with Common, his look fit with that world. I actually like the touch with his hand tattoo of a smile that he puts in front of his and his victims faces.

 

I'm ok with the ridiculous and crazy gangster look. It sets itself apart from previous iterations.

 

Ben Affleck's Batman is visually the best live action cinematic Batman we've ever seen. Jared Leto's Joker is the worst live action cinematic Joker we've ever seen. That's not a great starting point. I wouldn't mind them toning down the tattoos and sparkly pants and pretending Suicide Squad never happened.

 

I just don't think that he ever felt dangerous or unpredictable, and I don't think that's completely the writing's fault. The performance felt weirdly reserved and awkward, like Leto wasn't comfortable with the role (which is funny considering how obnoxiously obsessed with it he was). Maybe a better script and strong direction could push him over, but I don't think that's likely enough to have any interest in giving him another go.

 

I don't disagree with that, but the movie is such a mess that it's really hard to judge that small of a performance. They didn't exactly give him any stakes to make the performance come alive, he just wants Harley and money. It's hard to come off as legitimately threatening without higher stakes/an actual psyche.

That said there are actors who could have maybe transcended that, and Leto is not good enough to save a poorly written character (I think Tom Hardy maybe could have done it, he's one of our weirdest and most unpredictable actors, in addition to just being a more physically imposing person than Leto. Ben Foster maybe?)

 

Ben Foster would have actually been kinda cool. I don't agree with pretending SS never happened, now all the characters are set up and can actually go on fun insane missions! I want to see more of everyone, they just had a great Waller, Deadshot, Harley and crew in a bad movie.