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I respectfully disagree I feel Catwoman worked extremely well and was integral to the plot.
So let me go into more detail
As to why I love this movie
I love how the film feels both realistic and a comic book come to life.
The narration is amazing.
I love Patterson I feel he is amazing in the role which I will be honest I was originally extremely skeptical of him hell it wasn’t till the second trailer in October that moved me straight to excited status.. and the film didn’t disappoint
The fights were brutal
The action was amazing
There was horror elements that I wanted Batman to have for years. It’s ironic for a film about fear batman begins is way to clean and kind to be scary this film is scary and dark I love it
I am nervous about the sequel as I really really don’t want the joker
I want to see a mob war between Penguin and Ventriliquist
I am going to see it again soon
Agreed. Very effective. It was pulpy and noirish… really loved the use of it.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
2. The Batman (2022)
3. Batman Begins (2005)
4. Batman (1989)
5. Batman Returns (1992)
6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
7. Batman (1966)
8. Batman & Robin (1997)
9. Batman Forever (1995)
10. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Haven’t bothered with Justice League or The Lego Batman Movie yet, but I probably will at some point for completion sake. I’m a big fan of my Top 6, consider 7 and 8 guilty pleasures, and dislike 9 and 10. Amazingly, several of the animated features are some of the very best in the franchise, such as Mask of the Phantasm, Return of the Joker, and The Long Halloween.
I think THE BATMAN used it in just the right amount and placement.
Too awesome. I’d love to experience a memory like this!
That's interesting: I've seen that elsewhere too- someone said The Batman is a better Batman film whereas Batman Begins is a better Bruce Wayne film. I certainly find that intriguing because generally filmmakers have usually found Wayne the more interesting character of the two, I suppose because Batman is so limited as a screen character. I will be curious to see this as a result.
I still find Selina’s story redundant, in my opinion because
Right then Batman knew that raw vengeance wasn’t enough and he dove off the scaffolding to save Gotham citizens from drowning. Lighting the flare and leading them to safety he learns, literally, that being a beacon of light trumps vengeance, therefore, narratively, it made Selina’s entire story as redundant. To me that one scene at the end was more powerful than all of Selina’s story (cut this out of the film you have a tighter story).
I liked the movie, by the way.
https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/the-batman-opening-weekend-second-biggest-pandemic-1235197193/
This is domestic box-office only.
I'm betting on a $750M final that would be good but not great...
1. Robert Pattinson
2. Michael Keaton
3. Christian Bale
4. Adam West
5. Val Kilmer
6. George Clooney
7. Ben Affleck
2. Keaton
3. Affleck
3. Pattinson
4. West
5. Kilmer
6. Clooney
Bale worked very hard; he was committed. A charming Bruce Wayne as well as an imposing Batman. Of all the actors, I rank him as the most talented and with the widest range of emotions. He was on fire as Batman, incredibly energetic and very dramatic as well.
Keaton comes close. If Bale is my Craig, then Keaton is my Dalton. The man absolutely nailed it. He still is "my Batman". Bale was simply given more to do, which leaves him at the advantage. You understand my comparison with Dalton.
Affleck is awesome and Pattinson is too. The latter plays a more distant, more elusive, less "social" Batman. We see less of his Bruce Wayne and what we see is a guy who seems lost in silent determination. Bale's Bruce Wayne did his best to keep the cover up, Pattinson's just doesn't go out unless he absolutely must. I like this take on Batman very much but, again, Bale was given more sides of his character to show off, which, again, puts him in the number 1 spot.
West was charming. His Batman is the one I grew up with as a kid through reruns.
I like Kilmer but Batman Forever wasn't about performances, only about BO performance. WB got greedy and lost track of the things that matter. Same with Clooney. His one saving grace in an otherwise peculiar (though enjoyable) film is that he, at least, got the joke. Talk About wasting good talent.
2. Bale - Another fine performance, although sometimes his voice as Batman is unintentionally funny (Pattinson's voice, although at times reminiscent of Bale's, is the strongest and most believable). One of Bale's pluses in the role is the way he clearly delineates the differences between Bruce's public self -- the charming playboy -- and his private self, which is odd, troubled and even antisocial. I don't like the way he's almost pushed into the background in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but that's the fault of Nolan and not Bale (who is excellent).
3. Kilmer - In some ways his performance is the precursor to Bale's, because I think he really thought about the character's two identities and made some clear, intelligent choices. Too much of the film is given over to campy humor and Tommy Lee Jones's and Jim Carrey's hammy performances, but I think Kilmer is rock solid, and his interactions with Chris O'Donnell's Robin in particular are effectively conveyed.
4. Affleck - I'm not normally a fan of this actor, but I like his older, humbled, more reflective take on the role in JUSTICE LEAGUE (both the theatrical and Snyder versions). I've never seen BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN and can't comment on the performance in it.
5. Keaton - I love Michael Keaton, but I think his portrayal is confused (and confusing) in both of his Batman films, and he's very easily upstaged by his co-stars, particularly Jack Nicholson. I would argue that his best scene is in the first one, when he visits Vicki Vale in her apartment and tries to tell her that he's Batman -- it's a warm, funny, and surprisingly human scene that plays to Keaton's strengths with comedy. But too much of his work in the remainder of BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS amounts to staring at people in an unnerving way, looking baffled, or trying to move around in what seems like a really heavy and uncomfortable costume.
6. Clooney - Another actor I admire, it's just too bad that he walks through the role and probably never thought about it for more than two minutes. He's not terrible, merely coasting.
*Adam West and Kevin Conroy were both great, but I find it weird ranking them with the others since West's performance was primarily humorous and Conroy's voice-only.
With BATMAN & ROBIN, yes, but I think in BATMAN FOREVER Kilmer's Bruce Wayne/Batman is more defined than in either of the previous films. I never quite understood (or even believed) why Keaton's Bruce Wayne was driven to do dangerously heroic things, which I believe is the fault of Burton and the writers, who were more interested in the villains.
With Kilmer's version there is at least an attempt to bring out the character's duality and humanity, mostly in his interactions with Robin and Nicole Kidman's psychologist (even though the latter's scenes are goofy at times).
The film also doesn't shy away from Batman's benevolent heroism vs. the common interpretation of the dark knight as a violent, vengeful punching machine. When Two Face crashes a circus and demands that Batman reveal himself or he'll start killing hostages, Bruce, in the audience, immediately jumps to his feet and yells "Harvey, I'm Batman!"
That's the character.
What bothered me is that we're revisiting falcone club again and again and again.
These were the worst scenes of BB (which is a worst film anyway), but now it looks in my mind that Wayne is forever stucked in that underground club.
I expect a lot of YT edits where different Waynes knock at the door and different bouncers answers once the Blu-ray is out.
As for the joke you are referring to, and one of the few chuckles we get in the entire film, the filmmakers simply follow the rules of a good gag without overdoing it.
This.
I had a good time with 'The Batman'. Tonally absorbing. Aesthetically incredible. There's a truly wonderful score by Michael Giacchino under all the admirable efforts to make it a detective story rather than a big, loud blockbuster. The supporting cast are all excellent: Colin Farrell in particular is having a great time as The Penguin (his Irish accent seeping through his pantomime Al Capone impression brought a big smile, and those prosthetics are stunning). There's a total humdinger of a car chase in the middle section that was worth the ticket fee all by itself.
Pattinson? He's great while wearing the suit - which is thankfully the majority of the time - but for me fared less well when he was out of it; the attempts at Emo Bruce Wayne didn't work as well as I had hoped it would. One of the most enduring things about Batman/Bruce Wayne is that probing of where one begins and the other ends, but here they are one and the same from the get-go and I kind of missed it. This is a Batman story, not a Bruce Wayne one.
The biggest compliment for last: despite the three hour runtime, the film absolutely zips along and it's never boring - and mercifully, there's no big CGI finale. It all feels very intimate and personal.
Overall, a big win for DC and comic book films in general without being revolutionary; proving that there's still room for impressionistic and unique storytelling in the superhero genre. The fact that I felt compelled to see it a second time so soon is probably indicative enough of its value.
This will be the blueprint for the next Bond film. I would put money on it (if I was a betting man!)
I am still jazzed, @Risico007. Will see the film a third time tonight. Can't wait. There's so much there to enjoy! I'm currently looking forward to Farrell's performance the most.
What I love about this movie is that it blends Fincher (Zodiac, Se7en) with '70s Scorsese (Taxi Driver) and '70s Coppola (The Conversation), both in terms of content as well as tone.
Also, I cannot believe this film was scripted before Jan 6 of last year.
Tonally, THE BATMAN feels like it is set in the '70s as well as the darker '90s, but the actual threat is very much rooted in recent history. It wasn't even meant to be. It just happened that way.
Although I can see the influence of the two Fincher movies and TAXI DRIVER (especially in the narration), I don't see anything of THE CONVERSATION in this movie.
I think Reeves's starting points -- in addition to those mentioned above -- are Nolan's Batman movies (obviously), BULLITT (the car chase and procedural aspects), DIRTY HARRY (Scorpio Killer), DEATH WISH (the subway opening), THE FRENCH CONNECTION, and possibly even something like FREEBIE AND THE BEAN in the level of mass destruction during the car chase and the way that innocent bystanders are disregarded, even by the ostensible hero.