What Makes The Batman Incredible

The Batman is the latest movie from DC, but it manages to set itself apart from the rest of their slate. In this video, I go over Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson's take on the Dark Knight, and why I think it works so well.

[billyjenkins]

I love that Matt Reeves got complete control over his own movie. Didn't feel like there were a bunch of hands in the pot. That's when DC is at its best

[ajhurtekant]

Personally a big highlight for me was just how good the movie sounded in the theater. Not just the score but the bark of the gunshots, the thud of his boots in the distance and the roar of the batmobile all sent chills down my spine and made the movie that much more fun to watch

[nubbiewubbie]

At the beginning of the movie, the man he saved from thugs was cowering from him and begging him to not hurt him.
At the end of the movie, the woman he saved was clinging to him, because she saw him as a beacon of hope.
That transition during the final act where he realizes that simply beating up criminals isn't enough to bring about the change he needs is quite nice. I feel like that’s when he went from being a vigilante to being a hero.

[NateDog_WDE]

I love how Pattinson’s bruce feels like a boy who never really got the chance to grow up after seeing his parents die. It just feels very raw and accurate to how many of us would be after experiencing something like that.

[dante]

The main difference between this Batman and Nolan's Batman is that Nolan's had already gone through 7 years of travelling, combat training, and soul searching BEFORE he put on the suit. So by the time, he came back to Gotham and became Batman, he knew who he was, what his goals were, and how to execute them.
I have a feeling this Batman put on the suit FIRST, hit the streets, and then preceded to learn and find himself while on the job. Which would explain why he's a bit more sloppy and emotionally unstable. He's still a raw and unhinged Batman-in-training and needs more time to develop that God-like competence. 2 years is still very, very little in the grand scheme of things.

[nickclark]

I like how you touched upon how Pattinson plays Bruce outside of the suit. To me, not only did he seem uninterested in being Bruce, he also felt very self conscious, and almost afraid, like all of his confidence is just drained when he’s not behind the mask. I found that to be a very interesting and unique take on the character.

[benwasserman]

For a three hour movie, The Batman went by really fast. It definitely had the feel of watching a graphic novel in live action, right down to cliffhangers and monologues.

[cuniving]

I feel like we witnessed the birth of Bruce wayne as an identity in this movie though. Like to me there seemed to be a real lightbulb moment for him when he realised how easy it was for him to get around the club as Bruce

[karln]

This movie definitely has one of the best opening sequence imo. The facts that all the villains just constantly looking into the darkness expecting him to show up is crazy and bone chilling to me.

[lildaffy]

Personally, I really love the addition of the eyeliners. Other than addressing Batman's disapearing eyeliners in mainstream movies before this, I think it really adds to the gothic aesthetic in this world Bruce lives in.

[ThePonderer]

This is really the first Batman movie where it feels like Batman himself is “the main attraction”. Absolutely everything is in service of growing Bruce as a character, and it’s an enormously compelling journey.

[rhetiq]

One thing to note about this Bruce drenching himself in the Batman persona is the fact that this is probably the first live action Batman where we get to see him being able to go mobile as Bruce while concealing his Batman gear in his big jacket and backpack, with his eyeliner intact. Other incarnations usually have to come prepped with all the gears from the batcave and so forth, but in this Bruce doesn’t waste time to go back home or retrieve them in his lamborghini trunk but instead has his stuff all packed up everywhere he goes so he can slip in and change on the go. He’s the Batman 24/7

[tomtudorweaver]

Something I really liked after that first trailer dropped was how many people lost it when Batman ruthlessly beats up that one guy then says the 'I'm vengeance' line. That was the moment that got all the big reactions, and I even remember one reaction where after he says that line, the person went 'that's what he's meant to be' and I love that the film basically says that Batman being that way is not a good thing.

I think this film did such a good job at reminding people that Bruce Wayne is a broken and damaged person, and whilst seeing him beating up criminals is cool, that's not what makes him a superhero and if that's all he does, it's a problem. Certain earlier versions even if played well by good actors I think forget that with how they're written.

[soirema]

I loved the "awkwardness" of this movie. It felt so real, I could taste the Gotham's air

[baddabing]

This is my favorite batman. Never did I ever find it cheesy, even the eyeliner. It all seemed practical, brutal, a means to create presence. Even his cape is used to hide in the shadows and as an emergency flight suit with a parachute.

There's something deeply dark about this Batman and I couldn't get enough of it. He literally appeared and dealt justice like the Grim Reaper. Yet he wasn't godlike or invincible. He still took hits, he still got knocked down, he still failed, yet he always remained as a force of nature.

Also, it's great that he feels like an actual detective.

[Zoofa_Qe]

Though he doesn’t get much praise due to the rest of the increadible cast, John Turturro’s Falcone is Also increadible

[HKISfreak]

I gotta say Riddler was way less of a deviation from the comics/tv show than I was expecting, he was just a bit grounded. But that same dude who writes goofy riddles as a way to cope with his insecurity and attention seeking is there, and I thought Dano was pretty over the top (which I enjoyed), and I think you nailed it. He wants to be this intimidating badass but comes off as just a lame nerd, which is exactly the vibe I get from Riddler in most Batman media.

Edit: guys I know this is a completely different interpretation, I am simply saying he captured the spirit of the original far more than I expected.

[roselol]

I've seen criticism of how Pattinson played batman and Bruce Wayne as "almost the same" but I don't think this should be a criticism. At this point he is finding the lines and boundaries between Batman and Bruce and at this point in just life/trauma that fact they are conjoined makes so much sense. Loved this film, this is how Batman has always been in my mind

[anonanon]

I enjoyed that the main antagonist of the film is actually Bruce Wayne himself. His negligence and inability to manage his fathers company and get on top of their finances is the root cause of the destruction and degeneracy that is running rampant in Gotham. This is a coming of age moment for Bruce Wayne as he realizes that his juvenile approach to vigilante justice is too small scale to actually have a desirable impact, and by engaging in it, he is shirking his responsibilities as Bruce Wayne where he could have a much more potent impact. The emotional toll this must take on Bruce is immense, his denial of the call to action has real world costs, and now he has to face them.

[tysonasaurus]

I how heartfelt the ending journal is, there's something campy about the whole movie like Bruce's degree of emoness but he sells it, or penguin's goofiness, Bruce displays the same sort of corny poetic style of speaking in his journal in the beginning it's just edgy, he's still a child by the end of the movie he's just one that has finally opened his heart again, so of course it has this overwhelming poetic style and he's pouring his heart out and he doesn't care if it's cheesy