The Batman
So many of these movies start out with massive dumps of exposition lazily slapped together by flashbacks and some quick cut montages that show that "the hero is just like us". These heroes are flawed in some way (underachiever, unpopular, underdog etc etc) but ultimately they are likeable, witty and can snap off random pop culture quips that gets cheap laughs. THE BATMAN removes these pretenses because it knows that its titular character is not "just like us", he's a affluent individual born into high social standing who dresses up into a bat costume exacting vengeance rather than go to therapy or bury his trauma deep inside like the rest of us.
In those opening 30 minutes <PERSON> <PERSON> gets defined better than most because it doesn't try to draw you into liking the character as much as it is shaping the world that made him the way he is when we begin the film. This is aided by the collective familiarity most of the audience already has with <PERSON>'s origin but is pushed deeper because the movie takes the time to establish the villain (<PERSON> <PERSON>) as a strong foil to <PERSON>. <PERSON>'s collection of adversaries has always been one of the character's main strengths throughout all mediums because they are human with rich backstories and motivations rather than a CGI robot / aliens with one noted intents to gain power.
Comparisons will be made to ZODIAC, SE7EN, MEMORIES OF MURDER will be made perhaps a little too cheaply just because of the tone, atmosphere and plot that drives the film but <PERSON> lacks the same directorial flair in his compositions. He's also let down by comic book obligations to show action and tease out future sequels because I think these are easily the worst parts of this film (the car chase scene especially is a poorly edited mess). 952
In many ways it is more akin to CASINO ROYALE and how it established <PERSON> and <PERSON> as <PERSON> & Vesper than it is a <PERSON> -esque movie (the comparison I'm seeing everywhere) but all in all this is a very solid film, a welcome breath of fresh air under a sea of monotonous blockbusters.
Stray Observations
- Casting is so strong throughout. Liked most of the cast (except <PERSON> who's only in this to build up the sequel). <PERSON> plays both sides of <PERSON> well. <PERSON> has all the charm and chemistry. <PERSON> hams it up a tad but largely understands the assignment
- Not really a fan of the voice over diary entries but understand their purpose
- I like the tone of this one because it fits <PERSON> but I don't think it should be set upon whatever DC has planned next. The comics carry a wide array of styles and tones so it would be wise for them to allow whatever that is in the source material to come through rather than fit every property under the same box just because it worked well here 19