MovieChat Forums > The Batman (2022) Discussion > I didn't like this, unfortunately (spoil...

I didn't like this, unfortunately (spoilers)

posted 3 years ago by JakeSWITCH (504)
8 replies | jump to latest

- The Riddler was a weak antagonist and I didn't care about his motivations (I wouldn't be surprised if Hush / Tommy Elliot was supposed to be the villain in the first draft of the script). Also, Paul Dano's acting was dreadful during his scenes in Arkham. Overall, I was reminded less of Fincher's 'Zodiac' and more of Schumacher's comically grim-dark '8MM'.

- The film felt overlong (how many times did they return to the Iceberg Lounge?) and shuddered to a halt after Nashton turned himself in.

- Batman, generally, was disappointing. The way he just waded through machine gun and shotgun fire due to his armour (like Tony Stark escaping the terrorist cell in the first 'Iron Man' film) instead of using stealth. The amount of times he allowed himself to be surrounded in rooms of thugs and cops (later in the film, we see him dragged to the ground by two men). The way Jim Gordon allowed him to walk into active crime scenes amongst the police officers and then fiddle around with evidence. For someone who described himself as a "shadow", Batman was very visible and vulnerable.

- It had the same issue as Superman in 'Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice'. Batman has been active for two years, but we don't get a sense of what he has achieved or how the public view him. Some criminals are scared of him, but some don't even recognize him or take him seriously? Why does Jim Gordon give him the run of every crime scene even though other officers call him a freak? Is he the one who put the Joker in Arkham?

- The action scenes had less impact than Nolan's trilogy. Nolan's hand-to-hand scenes weren't great (although they improved) but there was always a massive amount of emotional heft behind Batman taking on, say, Carmine Falcone or Bane.

- The dialogue was clunky. "Could a falcon also be a rat?" etc.

However, I did enjoy Colin Farrell's Penguin and Zoe Kravitz's Catwoman - I'd be interested in watching their spin-off series / movies - and Robert Pattinson was decent as Bruce Wayne in his civilian identity. I also liked how it dug a little more deeply into the history of the Gotham families.

[–] Ripkens25 (2064) 3 years ago

These are all fair and reasonable.
For me, I think the good outweighed the bad.

SPOILERS...

I liked the world they created, similar to The Crow...and even Blade Runner.
Always dark, always raining.

The scene where the subway punks are mugging someone and The Batman slowly emerges from the shadows toward them....is one of the best reveals in any comic book/superhero movie. Just fantastic.....and a real "Oh Shit" moment for the punks.

Another great reveal, when the Mayor is in the living room of his mansion, no lights turned on, and we see the sinister glow of The Riddler's glasses....just standing there motionless behind him--wow! Spooky stuff.

There are lots of little gems like this. Plus, great performances by Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright.
I think they could have trimmed about 20-30 minutes off the runtime. But overall, it was a cool movie experience.
Definitely see it in the theater.

P.S. Even the way they used the Batmobile in this movie was cool, and underplayed (compared to how over-the-top it is in most other BM movies).

[–] JakeSWITCH (504) 3 years ago

I agree that it pulled a lot of inspiration from 'The Crow'. Great movie.

The scene where the subway punks are mugging someone and The Batman slowly emerges from the shadows toward them....is one of the best reveals in any comic book/superhero movie. Just fantastic.....and a real "Oh Shit" moment for the punks.

I think that could have been a cool scene if the subsequent action sequence had any real impact, like Ben Affleck's crunching brawl with Luthor's thugs in 'Batman vs. Superman'. As it was, I still prefer 'Batman Begins', where Batman, invisible, picks off Falcone's thugs while scampering around like 'Alien'.

[–] Goliard (1456) 3 years ago

This was actually when I realized the filmmakers didn't have a good grasp of Batman, or how to put together a coherent narrative.

They spent the first few scenes making sure we knew Batman was a PRESENCE in Gotham, and Gordon was working with him, and using the Bat Signal to great effect. They were visually explicit and narratively clear.

Then there was this INCREDIBLY STUPID scene where a street gang not only wasn't intimidated. . .They Didn't Even Know Who He WAS.

Which just doesn't make Any Sense.

The movie spiraled into further stupidity from there. A shame, because there were some really cool visuals, and decent performances from many of the actors.

Ah well. ONE DAY we'll get a faithful adaptation. Till then, at least we have the "Dead End" fanfilm.

[–] JakeSWITCH (504) 3 years ago

This was actually when I realized the filmmakers didn't have a good grasp of Batman, or how to put together a coherent narrative.

Yes, the screenplay definitely felt like it had been through a few re-writes. There were various elements which didn't gel well together.

[–] alienzen (1931) 3 years ago

I agree that Colin Farrell and Zoe Kravitz were the BETTER standouts among the cast, but that is not to say they were great. Pattinson is the worst Batman, period. Andy Serkis was totally miscast and badly used. Dano, generally a very good actor and playing his typecast here was just annoying. Jeffrey Wright was fine as Gordon, but was a pale imitation of Gary Oldman.

[–] JakeSWITCH (504) 3 years ago

Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright are both good actors, but they had nothing to do in 'The Batman'.

It's odd that they made Alfred so young (and emphasized his military background in "The Circus") but made Batman a loner who didn't require his assistance aside from solving a code.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 3 years ago

The constant return to the Iceberg had me feeling like this was actually an open world video game with too many missions in a central location.

In other words, I agree it felt overlong. The story didn't warrant that much length -- it wasn't epic in scope

[–] JakeSWITCH (504) 3 years ago

In addition to the Iceburg Lounge, which gets revisted three or four times, there's featureless construction area where Catwoman and Batman keep meeting up. It makes Gotham feel quite small.

Yes, that final action sequence with Riddler's social media followers definitely felt cobbled on.