The Batman

It has been a decent number of years since Hollywood realized that current commercial trends, which brought with them a wave of comic book adaptations and fantasy blockbusters, practically pushed aside the stream of cinema intended for the adult generation. The idea arose to give pop-cultural phenomena an artistic touch by approaching them "seriously," attempting to add some "depth" to them, and everyone can then find their own thing. The result is films that only play at being adult. When it comes to the moment of truth, the naivety and ridiculousness of old comic book characters and stories are revealed in full nudity. The adventures of a man in a rubber suit with a lovely little bat cap, in front of whom everyone around fervently pretends not to recognize the character of an important member of the local elite society by voice or by the exposed part of the face, simply must be processed with a great deal of irony, but Matt Reeves, similarly to Nolan in his trilogy, is not capable of that. Reeves' Batman proudly showcases the game of fate, beats with a two-foot dick, and does not spare any pathos. The connection of completely contradictory genres - noir and superhero epic - also feels out of place, as they require a different approach to the characters. Catwoman cannot be a mysterious femme fatale, and her relationship with Batman lacks the proper erotic dimension. When we overlook the shallow motifs and banal dialogues, the traditionally strong weapons of major studios remain in play, namely production design and cast (I didn't even recognize Colin Farrell as Penguin), but that is not enough for me. I give two stars for the world of Gotham, as well as with other films that play poorly at being adult. Overall impression: 45%. (04/18/2022)

The Dark Knight is Batman's take on Heat and The Batman is a clear salute to Seven, Zodiac, 8mm, Black Rain and all similar (neo)noir movies, but Matt Reeves doesn't rip them off because his film is just another one of them. Comparisons to previous Bat-films are unfair, but they can't be completely avoided either, because The Batman is still Batman. It's not even true that he's just now becoming a detective, because he's already investigated quite a bit in The Dark Knight. But the film's clear trump card is its atmosphere, which really hasn't been seen before – dark, ugly, rainy, dirty, lurking in the shadows and aggressive, a full-on Gotham that brings out perhaps the worst in all the characters. Pattinson's Batman is perfect, and I loved how the weird costumed vigilante seems almost out of place in the cop scenes, for example. But Pattinson as Bruce Wayne is just as good, although we don't get to enjoy him much. I also really liked Zoë Kravitz and John Turturro, whom I only recognized because of his name in the end credits. Paul Dano as the Riddler can proudly stand next to Ledger's Joker, and Colin Farrell clearly enjoyed Penguin as well. The film looks and sounds absolutely amazing, Giacchino's score is the second best Bat soundtrack after Elfman's Batman Returns, surpassing Zimmer's tracks in that it can be listened to on its own and you get something out of it. There are a great many scenes (in fact, ideally the whole film) that I would like to see again immediately, but two of them really stand out, the one at the funeral and the one with the Batmobile. The silence in the cinema was sepulchral and tense, as it should be. (03/03/2022)

If the world of Batman that Christopher Nolan created didn't exist, Matt Reeves's The Batman would be a more than worthy upgrade to the old Burton films, because the main assets of the original films, i.e. the gothic sets, the dark atmosphere and the intense orchestral music, are solidly restored, modernised and upgraded for the contemporary viewer. However, the "higher scale" that Nolan imprinted on the main character with his unmistakable signature is not worked with here. So while you can check all the boxes in Batman Begins, the reboot is really just a convoluted, dark noir detective story with an interesting narrative and a number of well-written characters. But watching this 176-minute colossus, in which every other shot, gesture and look is 3 times longer than it should be (and yes, even the car chase is insanely long and unimaginative), is a real chore. (03/06/2022)

The Batman is a great way to take a new path and not disappoint viewers pampered by Nolan. Matt Reeves is the guy who can take a simple plot formula and make such an engrossing spectacle that intoxicates the audience with every scene over the course of three hours. The deliberate slowness of many of the scenes with their polished staging more thoroughly stylizes the characters and builds up the dark atmosphere of the hopelessness of a dirty, corrupt setting. Giacchino is unrecognizable and, especially in the suspenseful scenes, he transcends the shadow of his own creativity. The actors are well cast and directed (Farrell is again the most expressive of them), and the new Batmobile makes a grand entrance. What diminishes the film’s potential is its PG-13 rating – its very dark spirit in combination with the plot concept involving the hunt for a psychopathic killer, heavily inspired by Fincher’s Seven, needed a bit of graphic violence. In the films greatest display of rage, Batman pounds his fists into the bad guy’s face without even bloodying his nose. And the film contains a lot of such nonsense, sometimes purely logical, that stands in stark contrast to the otherwise fantastically well-crafted filmmaking details. (03/13/2022)

Matt Reeves and his dark neo-noir detective Batman! I was hoping that the new Batman would instantly join the top 10 films I've ever seen and unfortunately that's not going to happen, as some of the individual elements didn't quite work for me, but that doesn't mean it isn't a solid film that everyone should see in the cinema. In fact, I can't really imagine seeing the film at home and not falling asleep. Matt Reeves pulls us into a three-hour dirty and dark Gotham that is no stranger to crime and corruption. The acting is very precise, Robert Pattinson as Batman is perfect, Zoë Kravitz is the sexiest Catwoman ever, Jeffrey Wright as Gordon is very solid, and Paul Dano is very good as the villainous Riddler (although at times I thought he overacted quite a bit, but nothing distracting). Colin Farrell as the Penguin should also be praised, he managed to shine in a small space as well. The atmosphere of the film is really reminiscent of Fincher's Se7en, and I was reminded of Saw in a few scenes (probably due to the puzzles). As a detective film The Batman is very good, with great crime investigation, but I'm a bit disappointed that we don't get much action itself, given the long running time, I would have liked at least a more spectacular finale (apart from a couple of ground fights in the dark, there's really nothing wow on my part), which unfortunately means I won't be in a hurry for a second viewing. Praise must also go to the music, which is spot on, and above all the cinematography and technical aspects are of the highest possible standard. I had goosebumps twice, during the one-shot Batman flyby and also when the Batmobile starts up (although surprisingly it was only used once!!). All in all the three hours were fine, there is a lot of quality work done in many ways, but it is so exhausting that the experience is not multiplied by euphoria as I had hoped. Maybe on a second viewing I'll enjoy the film even more, maybe the experience needs to mature, but either way, satisfaction prevails. Story 4/5, Action 4/5, Humor 2/5, Violence 3/5, Entertainment 4/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 5/5. 8/10. (03/02/2022)