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 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Seeing him work with the GCPD, who are in equal parts awe and fear of him, was fantastic. I hope that continues as we move forward in this world. I also really liked how the 'fear' aspect of Batman was emphasised, especially in that opening sequence where the criminals stop their activities just at the thought that Batman might be hiding in that shadow over there. And the Batmobile was less car and more monster. It was excellent.

And I liked the cut Joker scene. I like the idea that the Joker is someone Batman has already 'dealt with' in this universe, and that he visits him Hannibal Lecter style.

I caught this on HBO and it's probably the first movie since Shazam to come out of DC I'd consider truly good.

It's also unique among Batman films and DCU films. This movie is a detective story. With a superhero. They finally figured out (after what, more than a half-dozen failures?) what it is that makes the MCU so consistently successful; genre flicks with superheroes. And they did great. The movie is maybe a bit too long but w/e. I liked how it's watching Batman actually be a detective, pursuing leads, investigating clues, trying to put a puzzle together. The choice of Riddler for an enemy was a good one even if he has little in relation to the comic character. The only part I'd really criticize is that Catwoman felt a bit tacked on. IMO, her subplot could have been cut and nothing really would have been lost except unnecessary runtime but that's a small complaint I think.

Kudos to DC. They finally found the formula that's been bloody obvious for 10 years and put out a solid film with their staple characters. I enjoyed Patterson a lot more than I thought I would, though I think Gordon's actor was too good for being second fiddle XD Can we get a Gordon movie? I'd watch a Godron movie with this guy playing Gordon.

Jeffrey Wright is good in pretty much anything he's in. I'm still convinced his character on Boardwalk Empire was a vampire...

I think we would've got a GCPD show if that hadn't somehow mutated into the upcoming Arkham Asylum show, which sounds far less interesting to me. I always wanted a Law & Order: Gotham City, where it focuses on the GCPD and the DA's office (with Harvey Dent being an optimistic coin-flipping new assistant DA to start with who eventually becomes Two-Face after several seasons of getting to know him), and where the Batman is a periphery character who only shows up occasionally.

Doubt we'll ever get that...

Anyway, back to The Batman. Yes. A detective story. And a very noir one at that. It's almost never day time, and it's pretty much raining constantly. The atmosphere of Gotham felt oppressive, as it should, making it a big part of the story.

I felt Catwoman was included so they could go "Look! Catwoman!" and not much else, not that I minded her in the film. I like that it touched on her father really was.

Turning Riddler into a more 7even-esque serial killer rather than a tight green suited man with a question mark cane was a good choice. The performance was outstanding.

More Alfred though, next time. Andy Serkis never gets enough to do in anything he's in.

 Azreal13 wrote:
I wonder if they're brave enough to keep their powder dry on ole Chuckles until the third movie and do something different with the next one, so everything is already firmly established in this version of the world before Joker escapes Arkham, and then we can have them really go at it for a whole movie.

I think the best use for this Joker would be something similar to how he appears in the Black Glove. Particularly if they use the Court of Owls as a stand in for the Black Glove, I think that could come together into a worthy follow up.


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 LordofHats wrote:
The choice of Riddler for an enemy was a good one even if he has little in relation to the comic character.

He actually has a lot in common with the comic character.... sort of. The villain of this movie is really Hush, who has always been pretty intertwined with the Riddler to the point where they just made them the same character in the animated adaptation. Here we get a similar merger of the characters. The Riddler's name is revealed to be Edward (Last Name Unknown), but all the clues point to him being the son of the reporter Falcone killed. The reporter is T. (Thomas) Elliot, the real name of Hush in the comics which means the Riddler is probably supposed to really be Edward Elliot.

It’s up on Amazon Prime in the U.K. now. Giving it a watch, as I’m having a quiet night in before moving house tomorrow.


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I’m genuinely enjoying this! Whilst Keaton will always be my Batman, this is better than Batman Begins trilogy in my book.

He actually has a lot in common with the comic character.... sort of. The villain of this movie is really Hush, who has always been pretty intertwined with the Riddler to the point where they just made them the same character in the animated adaptation. Here we get a similar merger of the characters. The Riddler's name is revealed to be Edward (Last Name Unknown), but all the clues point to him being the son of the reporter Falcone killed. The reporter is T. (Thomas) Elliot, the real name of Hush in the comics which means the Riddler is probably supposed to really be Edward Elliot.

Oh.

I did notice the Hush connection in the film but assumed it was meant to be a reference. I really known know about Hush because of the animated movie.

Whilst late to this thread’s party. My thoughts, but spoiler tagged.



However I do wonder if this is making Bad Sequelitis more of a foregone conclusion?

To be fair, the only other thing I know Pattinson was in is Twilight where 'just a pretty face' was basically the role.

 LordofHats wrote:

He actually has a lot in common with the comic character.... sort of. The villain of this movie is really Hush, who has always been pretty intertwined with the Riddler to the point where they just made them the same character in the animated adaptation. Here we get a similar merger of the characters. The Riddler's name is revealed to be Edward (Last Name Unknown), but all the clues point to him being the son of the reporter Falcone killed. The reporter is T. (Thomas) Elliot, the real name of Hush in the comics which means the Riddler is probably supposed to really be Edward Elliot.

Oh.

I did notice the Hush connection in the film but assumed it was meant to be a reference. I really known know about Hush because of the animated movie.

My favorite Hush instance has to be in a comic where Batman goes undercover as Hush, and Penguin tells him both he and Hush have a poor Bruce Wayne impression.

Pattinson impressed me in the film Cosmopolis.

 LunarSol wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
I wonder if they're brave enough to keep their powder dry on ole Chuckles until the third movie and do something different with the next one, so everything is already firmly established in this version of the world before Joker escapes Arkham, and then we can have them really go at it for a whole movie.

I think the best use for this Joker would be something similar to how he appears in the Black Glove. Particularly if they use the Court of Owls as a stand in for the Black Glove, I think that could come together into a worthy follow up.

Yeah, I think too many people have their undies in a wad over that Joker cameo. It doesn't mean anything other than that there's a Joker in that world. If the sequel was going to be a lazy, ordinary superhero movie, sure, the next film would be a Joker vehicle. I think it's pretty clear that Reeves isn't a lazy filmmaker, and that we can trust that the villain will be chosen to serve the story he wants to tell about Bruce/Bats.

I think Court of Owls almost has to be coming at some point. It fits very well into this Gotham.

It was good. The setting seemed more real and less contrived than Nolan's.