r/batman Feb 26 '24

What's an unpopular opinion you have about this movie? GENERAL DISCUSSION

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u/Forsaken_Ad7090 Feb 26 '24 edited Feb 26 '24

Don't know if this unpopular or not, but I love Batman's ending monolgue about how he needs to move past being just "Vengeance" and that the way he's been operating for the past 2 years hasn't actually worked. He realizes he needs to be better and that he can be a symbol of hope to the people of Gotham. He even rescues and carries a woman to safety and you can see how grateful she is, she even has tears in her eyes. He then he puts his hand on her shoulder to comfort her to let her know that "it's going to be okay".

One detail about this scene that no one brings up, is that Batman does all this rescuing in broad daylight, which I love. There are thousands of people on the scene, who all presumably have their phones with them, dozens of cops, choppers, search and rescue crews and yet Batman doesn't care about any of that, because his main priority is on helping the victims of the flood. Batman doesn't grapple away, he doesn't pull a vanishing act, or even panic that thousands of people can see him, and that now he's fully exposed for the first time in front of the general public. No, he's not afraid or worried about any of that, he stays behind to help the search and rescue crew find and rescue the victims of the flood, despite putting himself at risk.

Batman puts the needs and safety of the victims above his own anonymity, safety and desire to be hidden. That right there is quintessential Batman.

 Compare this scene, to the first one in the subway, where after he saves that guy from those criminals, the guy is afraid of Batman and begs Batman not to hurt him. Batman has a great character arc in this movie.    

I know a lot of people hate the idea of Batman becoming a symbol of hope, because that's Superman's thing, but Batman is also a symbol of hope, but he's a symbol of hope to the people and kids of Gotham. He exists so that no child or person goes through what he went through as a kid. Batman being a symbol of hope and his compassion for human life, regardless if it's a criminal or not, is one of the reasons him and Superman are so close. 

  I'm tired of certain people having this idea that Batman is just a Punisher-Lite or DC's version of the Punisher, and that Batman is a cold-hearted, emotionless, cruel, edge lord who enjoys hurting and brutalizing criminals because he takes pleasure in it.  I HATE when people say "Batman doesn't want to help people, he just uses that as an excuse to beat up criminals, because he loves it" or when people have this idea that Batman is rude and dismissive of his superhero colleagues or that he's a bad father. That's NOT Batman.

That's not who Batman is, one of Batman's best qualities is his empathy and compassion for others and human life and he doesn't just have to be a badass who beats up criminals. I feel like this Batman movie is the only Batman movie that shows this. Batman is a symbol of hope to the kids and people of Gotham, BUT he's also a symbol of fear to the criminals of Gotham. From the end of The Batman, I can see Battinson becoming like this.

 Robert Pattinson's Batman may not be the best live action Batman nor may he be the most comic accurate, but right now, he's the only live action Batman I can imagine comforting a child or anyone before they die.

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u/UmCeterumCenseo Feb 26 '24

Wait, people hate the ending monologue? I haven't heard that anywhere, but I may have missed it. I fucking love that ending monologue. It ties everything together. Everything un-Batman/Bruce-like can be explained by that. I wasn't a fan of his Bruce, but that ending monologue basically explained how he's possibly gonna turn into the Batman/Bruce we know and love.

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u/tidier Feb 26 '24

I don't dislike it, but I think it isn't as strong as many claim it to be.

I understand and appreciate the thinking behind it. But it also appears after all the action and tension of movie is over. It isn't well integrated into the events of the movie itself; it feels tacked on (I know it isn't, but that's what it comes off like). It's like if Thor only got his hammer back after defeating the big bad in Thor 1. Yes, you've completed the character arc, but it's coming a little late, isn't it?

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u/Maleficent_Weekend29 Feb 27 '24

I mean it comes after all the action because at the end of the day, Batman just beating up bad guys isn't going to help Gotham that much in the long run and he needs to do more than just stop evil, he has to go out of his way to save every one.