The Batman (June 25, 2021)

[greygoose]

''How much you want?''

 

[jinkazama]

''EVERTHING BURNS!''.......

 

[ZE_501]

So normal....

I think what I'm trying to say is where others look for connections to expose nefarious doings, he looks for reasons certain things that shall remain nameless are awesome.

DON'T SAY IT! :O

 

[jinkazama]

Just read an article that said Batman might not be getting a second Bat suit.......

 

[ironwez20]

Honestly everything about this movie is so kept in the dark that everything is speculative. Who knows at this point

 

[Wor-Gar]

If they re-shoot alot of it, doesn't matter what they say.

 

[TheDucky]

Off topic but I’m rewatching Batman ‘89 right now. Probably has been 10-15 years since I’ve seen it. About 50 minutes in and man some scenes are just laughable. Some of it does not hold up at all. The opening rooftop scene, the gun shots, the action scenes thus far... oooffffff. I actually think A New Hope holds up way better.

I should have just left my memory of it being a good movie alone. Loved them as a kid. Perhaps the final 90 minutes or so will redeem it for me.

I thought the fat detective was Bullock at first, Gordon seems to be a terrible casting choice, really don’t like Billy Dee as Dent just not a good acting fit (I don’t even care about the race of Dent either, Billy just doesn’t come across as Dent, but I can definitely see the promise of him as Two-Face).

The suit is great but not practical, the movements are hilarious since he can’t turn his head. Keaton was a solid choice for both Bruce and Bats. The scene with Vale and reporter man mocking Bruce and Bruce sneaking up behind was very BTAS-y, was a fun scene.

 

[matticus]

Still reigning best Batmobile. Brings back the memba berries for when Batman Returns was out. Got the Batmobile toy that split, went to Six Flags with the life size Batmobile there and got to ride the hanging seat Batman ride. As a kid I knew I didn't like the movie, especially with Penguin, but it didn't matter. It was Batman. Simple times for simple folk.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Batman '89 was never a good movie. Just had some great things in it -- great designs.

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

Batman '89 was never a good movie. Just had some great things in it -- great designs.

I believe those were Ebert's words, more or less.

The Gotham City created in “Batman” is one of the most distinctive and atmospheric places I’ve seen in the movies. It’s a shame something more memorable doesn’t happen there. “Batman” is a triumph of design over story, style over substance - a great-looking movie with a plot you can’t care much about. All of the big moments in the movie are pounded home with ear-shattering sound effects and a jackhammer cutting style, but that just serves to underline the movie’s problem, which is a curious lack of suspense and intrinsic interest.


“Batman” discards the recent cultural history of the Batman character - the camp 1960s TV series, the in-joke comic books - and returns to the mood of the 1940s, the decade of film noir and fascism.
The movie is set at the present moment, more or less, but looks as if little has happened in architecture or city planning since the classic DC comic books created that architectural style you could call Comic Book Moderne. The streets of Gotham City are lined with bizarre skyscrapers that climb cancerously toward the sky, held up (or apart) by sky bridges and stresswork that look like webs against the night sky.

At street level, gray and anonymous people scurry fearfully through the shadows, and the city cancels its 200th anniversary celebration because the streets are not safe enough to hold it. Gotham is in the midst of a wave of crime and murder orchestrated by The Joker (Jack Nicholson), and civilization is defended only by Batman (Michael Keaton). The screenplay takes a bow in the direction of the origin of the Batman story (young Bruce Wayne saw his parents murdered by a thug and vowed to use their fortune to dedicate his life to crime-fighting), and it also explains how The Joker got his fearsome grimace. Then it turns into a gloomy showdown between the two bizarre characters.

Nicholson’s Joker is really the most important character in the movie - in impact and screen time - and Keaton’s Batman and Bruce Wayne characters are so monosyllabic and impenetrable that we have to remind ourselves to cheer for them. Kim Basinger strides in as Vicky Vale, a famous photographer assigned to the Gotham City crime wave, but although she and Wayne carry on a courtship and Batman rescues her from certain death more than once, there’s no chemistry and little eroticism. The strangest scene in the movie may be the one where Vicky is brought into the Batcave by Alfred, the faithful valet, and realizes for the first time that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person. How does she react? She doesn’t react. The movie forgets to allow her to be astonished.

Remembering the movie, I find that the visuals remain strong in my mind, but I have trouble caring about what happened in front of them. I remember an astonishing special effects shot that travels up, up to the penthouse of a towering, ugly skyscraper, and I remember the armor slamming shut on the Batmobile as if it were a hightech armadillo. I remember The Joker grinning beneath a hideous giant balloon as he dispenses free cash in his own travesty of the Macy’s parade, and I remember a really vile scene in which he defaces art masterpieces in the local museum before Batman crashes in through the skylight.
But did I care about the relationship between these two caricatures? Did either one have the depth of even a comic book character? Not really. And there was something off-putting about the anger beneath the movie’s violence. This is a hostile, mean-spirited movie about ugly, evil people, and it doesn’t generate the liberating euphoria of the Superman or Indiana Jones pictures. It’s classified PG-13, but it’s not for kids.

Should it be seen, anyway? Probably. Director Tim Burton and his special effects team have created a visual place that has some of the same strength as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or Ridley Scott’s futuristic Los Angeles in “Blade Runner.” The gloominess of the visuals has a haunting power. Nicholson has one or two of his patented moments of inspiration, although not as many as I would have expected. And the music by Prince, intercut with classics, is effectively joined in the images. The movie’s problem is that no one seemed to have any fun making it, and it’s hard to have much fun watching it. It’s a depressing experience. Is the opposite of comic book “tragic book”?

 

[The Clown Prince of Crime]

I agree with Ebert, but I still like the film. It's one long toy comercial. What child doesn't like that?

 

[a-dev]

It'll always be a special film to those who were around to remember the publicity and the runup to it. But yeah it's not an especially good film, the plot is silly, the romance is forced and awkward and the action is dated.

But in the + column

If you love Nicholson you love his Joker
Keaton played a cool Batman
Despite dated execution Gotham looked cool
The most beautiful Batmobile (and Batwing?) we've ever had
Unforgettable music theme by Danny Elfman

 

[Dave_W]

It might not have aged well, but you know you want this to be a real thing...

 

[Dark_Knight_89]

It might not have aged well, but you know you want this to be a real thing...

This is phenomenal. An "Arkham" style game but with the theming and visuals of Burton's '89-'92 Batman world would be absolutely incredible.

 

[greygoose]

It'll always be a special film to those who were around to remember the publicity and the runup to it. But yeah it's not an especially good film, the plot is silly, the romance is forced and awkward and the action is dated.

But in the + column

If you love Nicholson you love his Joker
Keaton played a cool Batman
Despite dated execution Gotham looked cool
The most beautiful Batmobile (and Batwing?) we've ever had
Unforgettable music theme by Danny Elfman

It's one of those films were you had to be there or grow up watching it as a kid. I tried watching it again last year but ended up turning it off.

 

[Wor-Gar]

remember the publicity and the runup to it.

That was always the best part -- the year before release. The Bat-caps. The teaser trailer. The new music. The symbol being everywhere.

 

[SWFAN1000]

Honestly everything about this movie is so kept in the dark that everything is speculative. Who knows at this point

I think it was crap, so they are reworking it. I don't think the casting is right and wasn't impressed by the trailer at all. But we'll see what we get.

 

[greygoose]

I think it was crap, so they are reworking it. I don't think the casting is right and wasn't impressed by the trailer at all. But we'll see what we get.

I thought the trailer was great!

 

[Dave_W]

If WB thought it was bad, then it must have been good. So now they're going to change it to what they think is good, then be surprised when people don't like it.

 

[Wor-Gar]

They have not shown Catwoman. Bad sign.

They have barely shown Riddler. Bad sign.

They have shown Batman. Meh so far, nothing glorious.

They have shown Penguin. I don't think anyone likes this Weinstein version.

People don;t seem to like Bruce Wayne's emo look. Many don't seem to like the Batmobile.

Overall... nothing from the trailer or set photos has anyone talking about how much "blank" is really cool. The closest was Riddler's "Zodiac killer" style... but then we learn about the Gimp mask. Every fan remains, at best, hopeful that all the cool stuff has been well hidden. Now re-shoots are being considered.

This is not a good sign. This is not how you build anticipatory hype.