The Batman | March 4, 2022 | Warner Bros. | Certified Fresh on RT | 7th Most Profitable Movie of 2023

[Derpity]

1 minute ago, baumer said:

 

Because you are saturating the weekdays with your movie.  And is it really adding more to the gross?  I don't think it is.  

The movie is incredibly good, so I think the early screenings aids both the hype of the movie and the WOM. I think it'll definitely be a net benefit.

[LVB]

[commendable]

yall think it will break 800m or 900m WW?

[JWR]

Goddamn this was good! 

[cannastop]

 

[teard1972]

Watched it yesterday (Thursday, Taipei), the attendance was bleak, though not that unusual for a weekday morning show here, but still~ and I don't see there's any possibility of positive WOM going into the weekend. Taiwan is a certified Marvel colony, DC ips alone wouldn’t bring audience into the theaters.

Personally, as a DC fan, I'm quite disappointed with the film, the bat/cat dynamics is good though, so inaccessible to and disconnected from the GA. WB is still treating Batman as “the brand name alone is enough” type of ip; imo, what Batman needs is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, not the two sequels.

Since DCEU, Wonder Woman and Joker are the only two DC movies that I genuinely like (Aquaman I’m happy for its BO performance), I though The Batman would’ve become the third, but it’s just not meant to be. If WB continue to mismanage their biggest DC ips, before long, Supes and Bats would be better as references than leads in their own franchises.

[Dragoncaine]

34 minutes ago, teard1972 said:

Watched it yesterday (Thursday, Taipei), the attendance was bleak, though not that unusual for a weekday morning show here, but still~ and I don't see there's any possibility of positive WOM going into the weekend. Taiwan is a certified Marvel colony, DC ips alone wouldn’t bring audience into the theaters.

Personally, as a DC fan, I'm quite disappointed with the film, the bat/cat dynamics is good though, so inaccessible to and disconnected from the GA. WB is still treating Batman as “the brand name alone is enough” type of ip; imo, what Batman needs is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, not the two sequels.

Since DCEU, Wonder Woman and Joker are the only two DC movies that I genuinely like (Aquaman I’m happy for its BO performance), I though The Batman would’ve become the third, but it’s just not meant to be. If WB continue to mismanage their biggest DC ips, before long, Supes and Bats would be better as references than leads in their own franchises.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is easily the worst of that trilogy.

[lorddemaxus]

1 minute ago, Dragoncaine said:

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is easily the worst of that trilogy.

Nah, it's the only fun one.

[Derpity]

33 minutes ago, teard1972 said:

Watched it yesterday (Thursday, Taipei), the attendance was bleak, though not that unusual for a weekday morning show here, but still~ and I don't see there's any possibility of positive WOM going into the weekend. Taiwan is a certified Marvel colony, DC ips alone wouldn’t bring audience into the theaters.

Personally, as a DC fan, I'm quite disappointed with the film, the bat/cat dynamics is good though, so inaccessible to and disconnected from the GA. WB is still treating Batman as “the brand name alone is enough” type of ip; imo, what Batman needs is Rise of the Planet of the Apes, not the two sequels.

Since DCEU, Wonder Woman and Joker are the only two DC movies that I genuinely like (Aquaman I’m happy for its BO performance), I though The Batman would’ve become the third, but it’s just not meant to be. If WB continue to mismanage their biggest DC ips, before long, Supes and Bats would be better as references than leads in their own franchises.

 

It's cool not to like the movie, but...let's get some perspective on the IP side of the equation. WB now has a critically praised movie, a top director, a bunch of good actors, and (probably) a decently large box office hit that will set up for a sequel. WB is extremely happy right now lol.

[WittyUsername]

The third act definitely dragged for a bit, but it doesn’t kill the movie, and the ending suggests a promising future. I think they can afford to go a little lighter for the next one, as long as its not done to an excessive degree like with the Schumacher Batman movies and Justice League. 

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

Not really a fan of Reeves but this is the best thing he’s done by far to me. Formally sophisticated, mature narrative that intriguingly unravels without much contrivances. Very gripping and engaging. Strong performances across board and an emotional catharsis 

[Merkel]

I've just watched this

 

As a huge Batman fan, I was really looking forward to a proper, stand-alone, Batman movie, disconnected from expanded cinematic universe shenanigans. And I mostly got that.

 

First of all, I don't think Batman himself has ever looked better than this in live action. From the costume design, the really fantastic cinematography, the way Pattinson walks and carries himself, this Batman just looks intimidating, absolutely commands any room he's in. He's imposing, without feeling bulky and still retaining a sense of agility. Truly, this is the best visual representation of the character thus far.

 

Aslo, it's nice to see a Gotham that looks like a proper shithole, while still feeling like a very unique, idyosyncratic place. It's opressive, dirty, rainy, but it really doesn't feel like a generic major city, at all.

 

However, I also think this movie has an excess of plot at the expense of story. I suppose Reeves was so dead-set on doing a Batman detective story, that the twists and turns just pile up without any real impact and makes the runtime feel absolutely unwarranted. I was absolutely enthraled with the movie for the first 20 minutes or so, as the way this world was presented was absolutely spot on. But after, it really starts to drag.

 

The cast is good across the board, without any real standouts, though. Pattinson, like I said above, makes for a fantastic Batman, but for a really dull Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Wright is a good choice for Gordon, but the character seems to lack agency, always trying to follow in Batman's lead. Dano is good, but the character feels generic and they try to make him scary with a somewhat cliched aproach. Andy Serkis doesn't do much and I felt his relationship with Bruce was lacking in warmth. 

 

I also wish they would really embrace the Catwoman persona in Selina's Kyle portrayal. In a way, this movie takes a very similar aproach to the character as The Dark Knight Rises did, and while the performance itself is good, the character ends up a feeling as a somewhat generic cat-burglar, without retaining anything particularly distinctive about the Catwoman character. I really think she could  benefit from a slightly more "comic-booky" aproach.

 

The score is generic, viewing the movie did not increase one bit my appreciation for it.

 

These are just a few scattered thoughts, so I apologize for the lack of structure. To sum it up: it looks great, Batman himself has never looked better, nice to see again a Gotham City that doesn't look or feel generic, but the movie tries to cram too much plot without really having the story or the character work to support it. 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Merkel

[Dragoncaine]

26 minutes ago, lorddemaxus said:

Nah, it's the only fun one.

Fun doesn't equal great to me. It's a solid movie that has none of the depth or stunning character work like Dawn or War for me, and it's by far the most typical of them which works well for a first film, but I'm glad Reeves elevated the next two.

[Dragoncaine]

11 minutes ago, Merkel said:

I've just watched this

 

As a huge Batman fan, I was really looking forward to a proper, stand-alone, Batman movie, disconnected from expanded cinematic universe shenanigans. And I mostly got that.

 

First of all, I don't think Batman himself has ever looked better than this in live action. From the costume design, the really fantastic cinematography, the way Pattinson walks and carries himself, this Batman just looks intimidating, absolutely commands any room he's in. He's imposing, without feeling bulky and still retaining a sense of agility. Truly, this is the best visual representation of the character thus far.

 

Aslo, it's nice to see a Gotham that looks like a proper shithole, while still feeling like a very unique, idyosyncratic place. It's opressive, dirty, rainy, but it really doesn't feel like a generic major city, at all.

 

However, I also think this movie has an excess of plot at the expense of story. I suppose Reeves was so dead-set on doing a Batman detective story, that the twists and turns just pile up without any real impact and makes the runtime feel absolutely unwarranted. I was absolutely enthraled with the movie for the first 20 minutes or so, as the way this world was presented was absolutely spot on. But after, it really starts to drag.

 

The cast is good across the board, without any real standouts, though. Pattinson, like I said above, makes for a fantastic Batman, but for a really dull Bruce Wayne. Jeffrey Wright is a good choice for Gordon, but the character seems to lack agency, always trying to follow in Batman's lead. Dano is good, but the character feels generic and they try to make him scary with a somewhat cliched aproach. Andy Serkis doesn't do much and I felt his relationship with Bruce was lacking in warmth. 

 

I also wish they would really embrace the Catwoman persona in Selina's Kyle portrayal. In a way, this movie takes a very similar aproach to the character as The Dark Knight Rises did, and while the performance itself is good, the character ends up a feeling as a somewhat generic cat-burglar, without retaining anything particularly distinctive about the Catwoman character. I really think she could  benefit from a slightly more "comic-booky" aproach.

 

The score is generic, viewing the movie did not increase one bit my appreciation for it.

 

These are just a few scattered thoughts, so I apologize for the lack of structure. To sum it up: it looks great, Batman himself has never looked better, nice to see again a Gotham City that doesn't look or feel generic, but the movie tries to cram too much plot without really having the story or the character work to support. 

I really love the score in this film and find it pretty unique nowadays, a throwback to 70s scores with some of the themes like Catwoman's, but I can totally see how the "plot over story" fixation could be an issue. I'm seeing it again tomorrow and will fully collect my thoughts then, but I can kinda see how the reveals and exposition pile up a bit in the late 2nd act. I was still engrossed, but you could've removed one or two of the misdirections and trimmed about 10-12 minutes that way.

[poweranimals]

I'm probably gonna be the odd man out here. I liked quite a bit of it but it was wayyy too long.

[Knights of Ren]

Loved it and that was the quickest 3 hours ever.  I don’t know what anyone would want to cut.  

[lorddemaxus]

 

[TheDude391]

I liked it fine but was very underwhelmed overall. I found it way too long and in the third hour the film was losing me and I got a bit bored. I love extreme slow burns but the reveals and mystery just weren't enough to sustain my interest. I loved the cast, especially John Turturro and the world they build is fantastic, Gotham is so grimey and atmospheric (I like the Nolan films but they lacked a good Gotham after Begins). I am very excited for the sequels though, as the set ups were very interesting and now that the ground has been laid, we can move forward because I wasn't ecstatic about this particular intro story. I loved Reeve's Apes films (esp War) but this just didn't hook me.

 

Spoiler

The one aspect this did well above every other Bat flick was actually showcasing HOW the batman inspires fear in criminals. Instead of just seeing them scurry off at the sight of the bat symbol, we get POVs of them looking into the pitch black shadows around the city where he MIGHT be lurking. 

 

The cape change so that his gliding is just a wingsuit and parachute was so lame. Nolan's magnetic cloth was way better looking. Also didn't care for them changing Riddler's name from Edward Nygma to whatever his 4chan incel self ended up being. 

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by TheDude391

[BestPicturePlutoNash]

Well, Nashton is his name in comics following Infinite Earths

[TheDude391]

People say they've been wanting a detective Batman for a while now…yet we got it in ‘66 already!
Y’all think Pattinson could’ve ever solved these riddles? 🤨 I think NOT

https://streamable.com/fgxluw

Edited March 4, 2022 by TheDude391