Light spoilers below: The first two and a half hours were basically my dream Batman movie. They nailed the characters, aesthetic, music, costumes, everything. Exactly what I wanted. The bar being set so high probably made what felt like a studio-mandated climax and the MCU-esque tease towards the end seem way worse than they actually were, but they were both undeniably out of place. Still, loved it overall. Had a blast.
Saw this tonight and loved it. Gonna spew off some random thoughts to get them off my chest. Spoilers of course and sorry for a big wall of hidden text: Gotham feels lived in, dirty and dingy, depressing as hell in the best way. I'd compare it to the city we see in Arkham Knight but toned down for the live action setting. The way they set up how batman is seem from the perspective of criminals is awesome too. Like he's just an urban legend, or some horror movie monster lurking in the shadows waiting to pounce at any given moment. I think Rob plays a fantastic early years batman, fits into the suit well (I love this design) and portrays him in a fresh way, really focusing on the detective aspect more than we've ever seen. I like that he's more silent and brooding. Even the people on his side aren't sure if they can trust him yet. The general public still fears him at the beginning of the movie and by the end he grows to understand he needs to be more of a protector rather than a vengeful vigilante. Its like he is Batman and Bruce Wayne is the costume at this point so I get why they'd have so little of actual Bruce in this. I like that even charcaters in the movie mention that Bruce is reclusive and rarely ever seen in public. I'm thinking that will change in the sequels and we'll hopefully see him trying to rebuild Wayne Enterprises so he can try to help the city as both Bruce AND Bats. I like the way they handled his gear in a fairly grounded way too. Batmobile may be one of my favorite takes we've ever seen. His suit is great too. I love that you can even hear the movement of the leather when he moves around. He was crazy OP against point blank gunshots though but I'm not losing sleep over that in a comic book movie. Villains were spot on. Falcone, Penguin, and Riddler were portrayed so well. Turturro's Falcone felt like a sleazy mob guy right out of something like Uncut Gems. Farrell's Penguin had a great design and he acted the shit out of the role even if he wasn't the main focus. He might be the highlight for me villain-wise. Dano is so creepy as Riddler. I felt super uneasy whenever he showed up. He feels so chaotic with all the random yelling. Funny enough I could sense some bits of Jim Carrey's version in his performance, but just enough to make him seem like he's off his rocker. Its like they took the theatrics/goofiness of that version and turned it into Dano just being a fucking psychopathy. Other parts I liked: Bats/Gordon relationship being well established. Wright is maybe my favorite Gordon we've ever gotten. I need more of him in the sequel. Teamwork from Bats/Selena throughout the film and their chemistry was handled well. Rob and Zoe shine on screen together. I personally didnt need them to have a romance but I appreciate that it wasn't overdone or a massive part of the movie. I dont really feel like going into negatives and there arent many for me, but I will say Im not excited to see yet another Joker portrayal so soon with such a huge rogues gallery to pick from.
I love this take on the batmobile compared to the literal tanks Bale and Batfleck had. Makes a lot more sense in a city setting. The car's sound fx were so fucking good in imax too.
Very quiet the whole way through (in a good way). One part really got people hype though [/spoiler]Batmobile[/spoiler].
Definitely quiet through most of it thankfully! Weirdly a lot more laughter than expected. Not Marvel levels of comedy attempts but there were a few seemingly intentional funny moments here and there that hit nicely in an otherwise down and depressing setting.
My crowd had some applause in a couple places. The guy over my left should did a soft gasp into a quiet "daaaamn" probably about 8 times throughout the movie. I enjoyed that.
Rob mentions he will randomly reply to message forums. I think that is hilariously, the possibility of some nonsensical response actually being him.
I was like “why is jason momoa there? is there an aquaman cameo?” I totally forgot aquaman is kind of like, catwomans stepdad? Lol so weird to type that
gonna need to sit with this and while and parse my thoughts, but off top: almost definitely the best Batman film as a spectacle. no-one will put this script on par with The Dark Knight's, but the combination of Reeves' directing, Giacchino's score and these actors doing their thing is just fucking immense. been a while since I saw a film so engrossing I felt bad when I took my eyes off the screen to grab my water bottle, this was that
Great entry film to this take on the character. The tone of this felt truly like Batman more than any other film has, imo. The third act did feel a bit long, but the first two acts make up for it. The Penguin was a highlight in each scene that he was in. Not as phenomenal as TDK, but I’d put it next to Batman Begins.
I loved this but agreed on feeling the length especially towards the end. There's a couple quick things I would have cut out from the last 30 minutes but those first 2.5 hours are excellent. The more I think about this the more I like it, but right now I have this behind The Dark Knight as my favorite Batman movie. If The Dark Knight is Nolan riffing on Michael Mann's Heat, this is certainly Reeves riffing on David Fincher's Se7en or Zodiac. Both different interesting and valid takes on the character which come down to preference really on which is better
Yeah I highly recommend Se7en but agreed it will make you sick to your stomach on first watch. Go in blind.