Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Batman 

This is a masterful entry into the Batman franchise! Now when this film was first announced almost 3 years ago I was so happy to hear that Matt Reeves was attached to direct as he did a outstanding job at the planet of the apes film as he gave us one of the most incredible trilogy’s with what he brought to planet of the apes. So to hear he was interested in Batman and potentially doing it as a trilogy same as he did with the Planet trilogy I was stoked. Then to make things even better he hired on Robert Pattinson who’s found amazing success outside of twilight with Good Time, The Lighthouse and the lost city of z so I knew that Pattinson had the range and the emotional energy to channel such a icon I figure. Then the casting kept getting better hearing that Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, Andy Serkis and many more were attached made me think will this rival Christopher Nolan’s trilogy that he shaped back in 2005. Then Matt Reeves comes out  with  the bold statement that he was going to try to one up Nolan’s trilogy as he liked that His trilogy dug into the man behind the mask and Reeves wanted to really push that as far as he could go emotionally and to me I love he went at it from that perspective but trying to match or even one up the 2008 masterpiece the Dark Knight that definitely is a tall order. Now I’m not saying this film is better then the Dark Knight because as much as I love Matt Reeves’s Batman it’s not better then the dark knight as that’s a near impossible task to surpass or even equal but I will say this is definitely the second best Batman film ever made. 

Firstly, This film gives the big set pieces and the bombastic haunting score filled to the brim with a Neo - Noir look to the frame but it never looses sight of what the heartbeat of the film is which is Bruce Wayne trying to find out his path emotionally. And the other films yes really spoke about his path especially the underrated mask of the phantasm which side know is a perfect batman film anyway and then you have the Nolan trilogy which was about overcoming fear and becoming what he fears while putting his morals to the test and almost to the breaking point. The rest all focus mostly on the mission and yes the tormented soul but it wasn’t until mask of the phantasm and then the Nolan films where that really was brought centre stage. As if Nolan was the person to crack the ceiling of what you could do in terms of showing the human element of Batman in a dark gritty and raw way then reeves shattered that ceiling into pieces.

Secondly, so I love how the film focuses a lot on the man behind the mask and makes the action really secondary this time  As this film focuses purely on Bruce Wayne trying to put the pieces together of his family and a lot of the unanswered questions he’s been left in the dark for is revealed and sometimes it’s ugly and he takes it all head on in such a fantastically raw way. The look of the film and the sheer design of Gotham looks like it is pulled straight out of the pages of a comic book sprung to life in such a vibrant and gritty look to the picture. As Matt Reeves cracks open the brain of Bruce Wayne and makes him question all of his deer rooted trauma which is where Robert Pattinson delivers an astonishing take on the caped crusader in a truly gripping performance that is impossible to look away from. The performances in this film is truly something special as every single actor in this film you have Colin Ferrell in a performance that is truly transformative to the point he dose not look, sound or walk like himself and disappears into the role entirely. He plays the penguin in such a sleazy, slimy and menacing personality and you can clearly see Colin Ferrell having so much fun with this character as he shines greatly in a performance that I would love to get more of in future projects because he chews up every moment he is in the frame. Then you have Zoe Kravitz who plays Catwoman in such a deliciously fun performance full of such energy and mystery. The role of Selina Kyle has been played iconically by Michelle Pfeiffer in the groundbreaking Tim Burton Films and then you have Anne Hathaway with her take on the character in the Nolan franchise and now Zoe Kravitz for Matt Reeves take on it. So for me the role of Catwoman has always been one of playfulness and a sense of unpredictable violence as she’s always been like that in the comics and it translated beautifully in the Burton films and in this film as well. Because what Zoe did so well with her take on the character was not revel so much about her as a person but constantly keeping her in the dark and only showing what needs to be shown so their is that element of mystery still for the audience to think about without giving to much away and she also has fun with it as she flirts and plays with Batman in this fun back and forth banter while at the same time are able to help one another out and I loved that. Zoe Kravitz definitely needs her own Catwoman film I think we have recovered from that horrible Catwoman film from the 2000’s that we are ready for another take on that character in her own film as I feel Zoe Kravitz could expand upon the character in future sequels of Batman or if she even gets her own film either way I enjoyed her performance as Selina Kyle so much and she truly delivered a fun scene stealing performance full of fantastic emotional depth. Overall everyone gave an amazing performance in this film regardless of how big or small their performance was they all gave amazing work. 

Lastly, Matt Reeves Batman film is truly the best Batman film I’ve seen since the Dark Knight and Christopher Nolan seems this franchise could potentially match the brilliance of Nolan’s trilogy or even surpass it. As from seeing what Reeves brought to this first film with such a beautifully grim and faithful take on the character in such a human way helmed by a powerhouse performance by Patterson this could be one of the best trilogies ever crafted as this is one of the best comic book films ever put to screen. 

This film centres around Batman who has been living in the shadows and when a man calling himself the riddler starts causing chaos he throws into question if his family’s legacy was ever the good path he always thought or if it was a legacy built on bloodshed

Rated PG - 13 : Some Suggestive Material|Drug Content|Strong Disturbing Content|Strong Language|Strong Violent Content

Robert Pattinson : Pattinson delivers a grim and emotionally powerful take on Bruce Wayne! Pattinson is honestly one of the best actors working today giving high caliber performances in every project he is in. When I heard he was taking the cape and cowl of the caped crusader I was so excited to see his take on the character as since his twilight days he’s proven himself to be an amazing actor in films like Good Time, The Devil All The Time, The Lighthouse to name a few. He’s shown his incredible range of characters and fantastic emotional depth so to see him tackle on of the most iconic fictional characters you could say I was excited. As he dose not try to copy or sound like the actors that have portrayed the character before him he makes it his own and brings characteristics to Bruce Wayne that hasn’t been channeled into before. As Pattinson brings a very hollowed and haunted aspect to him that hasn’t been fully realized like this before. Now Kevin Conroy brought the emotional brokenness for sure but Pattinson pushes that right off the deep end and bares his heart in such a chilling way. As the film opens with him giving this incredible monologue that sent chills down my spine as you can hear the hurt, pain and darkness in his voice when he talks and Pattinson truly has a way with his eyes as theirs lots of moments in the film where he has very minimal dialogue and he tells so much of what he’s thinking and feeling by his the look in his eyes and theirs very few moments where he explodes in sheer anger. For a good portion of the film he contains his sheer anger and frustration of what he hears and he’s very subtle in his delivery and it’s very quiet which makes it all the menacing as you know what’s bubbling under the surface and how he’s holding all that sheer anger inside and trying to not crack. And towards the final act of the film he starts to crack and wear his heart on his sleeve a lot more as he thinks showing his raw Emotions is a sign of weakness which it’s not and he realizes that but he goes on that emotional path that sometimes is dark but he comes out of it a hero. And Pattinson brings all that complexity to the performance that is so layered in emotion and you become so wrapped up in his performance by the time the film is over you want to see more of Pattinson’s take on the character as he drills into the depths of his heart and it’s a outstanding portrayal of the character and probably the most darkest, emotional and gripping take on the character I’ve seen in a very long time. Pattinson delivers a performance that will truly take your breath away it’s incredible and I would love to see him expand on the character in films to come as he gave a chilling turn as the caped crusader. 

Matt Reeves : Reeves blew this out of the freaking water! Now this man crafted one of the greatest reboot trilogies ever made with the  planet of the apes trilogy he gave us. Now he’s taking on one of the most iconic characters ever created the caped crusader himself Batman. That’s no easy task as he is well aware of the impact and legacy Christopher Nolan left with his trilogy on the character and how he really brought Bruce Wayne into a more realistic nature and he not only knows that and acknowledges the path Nolan paved for him. He is trying to top that very trilogy that paved the way as here he gives a very different Batman that we’re used to seeing as he captured the city in such a bleak, gritty and very dangerous place and he makes the city itself a character and when you see all the overview shots of the city your jaw drops as Reeves really captured the world in such a immersive way. Now he didn’t just want to copy what came before him he acknowledges it 100% but he makes his take on the character his own style and I respect that. He drills into the depth and darkness of Bruce Wayne’s heart to find the vulnerability and hurt he’s suffered over the years and expose his heart bare in a way that’s never been tackled so brutally head on like this. Reeves never gets distracted with the big explosions and spectacle of it all to him that’s all secondary as he keeps the focus of the film on Bruce Wayne and his journey of self discovery and everything like the action and style all still happen around him but he never lets that overthrow what he’s trying to tell and that’s extremely important especially with a big franchise like this. He shows Bruce in a very real way and he lets Robert Pattinson explore that emotionally as far as he could go all the while giving us other great characters like the penguin, the riddler and catwoman and it never felt like it was to many people he gave us the right amount of each character so it never felt bogged down by to many characters but he balanced it all quite beautifully. And he brings the character to such life with a strong gripping emotional narrative that pushed the character into new places emotionally we hadn’t seen him go before while still delivering on the fun action and giving this neo- Noir look to the frame that made it seem so beautiful to look at. Reeves has truly outdone himself and has showed that this could one of the best superhero trilogies if he chooses to do just and I hope he does as I would love to see him explore this world again as he did a knockout job directing this film.