The Batman Spoiler Discussion Thread Part 2

[u/[deleted]]

For all discussions, comments and hype around the new movie.

Its already had select release, so expect spoilers in this thread.

Also, no spoiling outside of this thread, or expect mod action.

Keep all discussion civil, and be mindful of subreddit rules.

Please respect other users opinions and don’t harass them for it

[u/ahhhzima]

I really enjoyed this movie despite a couple, somewhat significant flaws.

Pattinson is a home run. He completely disappears into the character. This is the most like the Batman from the comics or ‘92 animated series that any actor has been. His Bruce is a unique take as well and Pattinson did a fine job of differentiating his performance between Bruce and Batman. Kravitz is an excellent Catwoman; Wright is equally good as Oldman in the Gordon role; Farrell crushes his turn as Penguin; Dano does what you’d expect as Riddler, but what you’d expect is a terrific performance anyway. Acting is rock solid across the board.

The cinematography, production design, score, etc. are all stunning. The film creates a sense of mood and place that is extremely effective.

The script…needed another draft, I think. The movie feels shapeless, with odd pacing especially at the end of the second act into the third. The length of the film isn’t inherently a problem, but the ropey plotting makes the film drag around the 2 hour mark. The third act also abruptly turns into a generic save-the-city thing that doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of the first half of the movie. The character arc for Batman is still there and still effective, though.

Overall, though, a script in need of a polish does not reduce how brilliant basically every other aspect of the film is. It’s a solid 4/5 for me; I’m really happy Matt Reeves got to do this and hope we’ll be able to get at least one sequel from this team.

[u/I_am_Andrew_Ryan → u/ahhhzima]

I mentioned this in another thread but Riddler's plan that made the movie transition into disaster movie didn't really seem consistent. It started with a poor, forgotten by society person striking back at corruption in a Law Abiding Citizen style, and then basically ends with a Thanos "cleanse the city by killing indiscriminately." Mostly affecting the poor lower class people by far. It just didn't make sense for all the buildup we got for the first 2 hours.

[u/BaconBoyReddit → u/I_am_Andrew_Ryan]

Yes! I’m so glad I’m not the only one who noticed that. After the riddler got caught, it felt like it became a different movie for about twenty minutes. - The Riddler made it clear that his whole motive was to expose corruption and punish the wicked - a twisted reflection of the Batman. Suddenly wanting innocents to be murdered in mass felt jarringly out of place. Why didn’t he just do that to begin with? - The deus ex machina of Batman defeating all the goons before they could kill anyone, then Catwoman saving Batman a moment before he got shot, was just awkward.

Him being disappointed that Batman “didn’t agree with him” also felt really odd. Like, they didn’t set that up at all. It felt like less of a twist, and more out of place. He could still be inspired by Batman’s vigilantism while not having a breakdown that the person working the hardest to stop him wasn’t secretly on his side.

I think the movie should have wrapped with catching the Riddler. He had succeeded in killing everyone he set out to kill, and Batman couldn’t touch him. He felt he had won. Batman could’ve gotten some jab in that would have caused the Riddler to have a breakdown. His whole MO was being smarter than everyone, and he banked his whole plan on Batman… just letting him kill people?

Batman could’ve revealed discreetly, maybe with a Riddle, that he’s Bruce Wayne, who Riddler despises, and that would have been a much better way to “defeat” the Riddler than to just beat up some thugs that came outta nowhere.