The Batman (Matt Reeves)

Just came back from watching The Batman myself.

The good:

- has Batman as more of a detective than before, which is welcome in principle. A slower burn, I can dig it;

- lots of Batman onscreen and a pretty decent interpretation;

- fight scenes show Batman actually fighting, rather than annoying editing away from it (as per the Nolan films);

- generally good characters (with one exception mentioned below). Colin Farrel is particularly good.

The bad:

- slow burn is ‘great’ in concept but unfortunately only ‘fair’ in execution here. At times there is meandering pacing, which makes its long runtime out-stay its welcome. It could have ended fine without the final sections of the film, which add very little. A slow burn does not mean that everything you film has to make the final cut. It ultimately felt like I was binging a TV series rather than watching a movie, which isn’t great;

- humourless, which at times makes the seriousness seem overly serious and therefore silly;

- the lead villain is an underwhelming interpretation (didn't really did his 'intense' moments). A couple of his 'puzzles' (such as the 'final room reveal) were nonsensical and/or redundant;

- there is one very jarring and not particularly well thought out ‘woke’ line;

- lacks the mastery of The Dark Knight.

Overall a good watch, but I don’t have any appetite to revisit it (yet). All the ingredients were there, but sharper editing would have made it less flabby.

3/5
 
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G-MAN2004 said:
Went in there with low expectations (it's Robert Pattison, it's not Christopher Nolan, etc.) and came out thinking it's up there with The Dark Knight. I'm not sure if that's recency bias and the fact I haven't watched the Nolan films for quite some time but I thought it was excellent.

One of my favorite films is Se7en and it reminded me a lot of that. Really dark and gritty.

Edit: Oh yeah, also loved that they stuck a bit of Nirvana in there too. Was a perfect fit.
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This sums up my thoughts on it pretty well. I wouldn’t put it on the same level as TDK just because the last 1/3 dragged for me a bit. I felt like it could have wrapped up earlier. The first 1/2 to 2/3 was great though. I thought every scene was suspenseful rather than dragged out and the mood was really grim. Great sound and some really cool shots as well.
 
Maybe it's because i've watched TDK so many times over the years but I find the final construction site Joker showdown/boat scenario similarly dragged out as a few have mentioned about The Batman here. That could however be due to batvoice tiredness from repeat viewings - it really does grate on me by the time the credits are rolling :D

Not to say that The Batman isn't a bit too long, on retrospect a week later after viewing, it could be tightened up somewhat - also listened to the soundtrack a few times since seeing it, think it's one of the best we've had so far across any batmovie.
 
I really enjoyed it and would say it’s alongside The Dark Knight for me. I actually prefer Robert Pattison to Christian Bale too. It was a teeny bit too long, but I imagine it wouldn’t feel like that if I could pause it at home! Definitely one for the OLED/4K collection when it’s released :)

Also, the main theme and the use of Nirvana was excellent, and as has been said, having more detective work was great.
 
Finally saw this, it was great just wish it was 30-45 mins shorter. Probably the best interpretation of Batman so far, and the visuals of the city etc were absolutely perfect.

If you're going to make a 3 hour film then you need to include an intermission because 3 hours in a cinema without being able to stretch your legs is miserable.
 
Just got back from watching it, I enjoyed it felt more of Detective Batman than super hero Batman. I can see why people complained about it being too dark but it is set in the 'traditional Gotham' which has always been dark.

Could have had some parts chopped down to get the run time down.
 
Watched it last night at Odeon Lux West End. Wow is one way to describe it. Sat in reclining heavily padded leather seats with more legroom than business class on a plane.


And then there's the sound, the way the force feedback rumbles through the chairs and you feel it in your chest etc. This is what cinema is all about. Superb movie too.

THIS is the Batman I expect to see. Outright vengeance but he comes to realise a truer purpose.
 
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