The Batman (June 25, 2021)

[jye4ever]

DiFabio has mastered the art of mobile forum posting while traveling the world shopping for 1/6 socks.

 

[jye4ever]

This is funny!

Hey jye, would you rather have a 1/6 Snowspeeder for $1500 plus shipping or a 1/12 Snowspeeder for $100 shipped?

Both

But if only one?

The 1/6 on my wall with Luke and Dak inside along with NO OTHER 1/6 SW vehicle to be found in my collection so a 1/6 Batwing will have to suffice lol

 

[matticus]

 

[AMMO]

 

[AMMO]

 

[Prime Clone]

And I'd forgot how powerful MOTP was...

 

[Sachiel]

View attachment 566121View attachment 566122

 

[loki2371]

That scene is more emotionally impactful than ANY scene ever done so far in a live action Batman film....

 

[DiFabio]

I think Pattison is the best Batman. He’s weird and autistic and I dig it.

Those scenes where he ignores people talking to him or answers minutes later is good stuff. He’s awkward but still comes off as heroic. Probably the most stoic of all the Batmen. Got Dredd and Robocop vibes with how he deals with thugs and stuff too.

He out crazies and out broods Keaton imo.

 

[jye4ever]

Master D has spoken

 

[Wor-Gar]

I do love the "everybody's a little bit off" vibe in The Batman.

 

[Bleah]

Taco Bell just announced they’re also making the 2022 Batmobile!

I mean your bum will kinda look like the Batmobile's exhaust after eating their tacos so I guess that's accurate.

 

[Prime Clone]

He out crazies and out broods Keaton imo.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Taco Bell just announced they’re also making the 2022 Batmobile!

I mean your bum will kinda look like the Batmobile's exhaust after eating their tacos so I guess that's accurate.

 

[Bleah]

View attachment 566139

Wait til you hear it in Dolby Digital.

 

[jye4ever]

So sorry DiFabio, Wor-Gar, JAWS, ironwez, Matticus and whomever else loved The Batman (me) BUT it seems that Turd and Loki get the last laugh after all….

The Batman ruined RUINED I SAY in 3..2..1….


It’s The Batman season, and nobody can dispute that Warner Bros. and director Matt Reeves have a smash hit on their hands. Among the most recurring compliments from audiences and critics is the film’s emulation of noir, horror, and detective stories, with many citing The Batman as having been more influenced by movies like Se7en than fellow superhero films. Yet, although The Batman undoubtedly contains elements of detective fiction in its tone and structure, it doesn’t commit to the genre as much as the film’s proponents would have you believe.



We have to discuss The Batman’s “fourth act,” and how it unravels its lofty genre ambitions.



The Batman’s narrative seems to come to a fitting enough conclusion when The Riddler is captured after completing his original scheme and winds up in Arkham. For more than two hours, The Batman is relatively low-key for a big-budget superhero movie. It’s certainly not devoid of action (there’s the incredible Batmobile chase for one thing!), but Batman spends much more time talking to people and skulking around crime scenes than beating up thugs. If we take the idea that The Batman is supposed to be a “detective movie” first and foremost at face value, then we have to consider the genre conventions, which means a story that’s more about reveals than bombast, more cerebral than IMAX-ready.



For a significant portion of the movie, this idea tracks. However, it all goes out the window when Riddler is put in Arkham and reveals that he had a second, secret plan all along to blow up Gotham’s waterfront and call in an army of his (Twitch? Patreon?) followers to declare open warfare on the city while it floods. It’s not exactly clear what Riddler’s endgame is here beyond mass market chaos, with the only concrete part of this plot being the attempted assassination of the city’s new mayor, Bella Reál. It’s a complete left-field swerve tonally and plot-wise, one that feels more mandated by the expectations of big-budget studio filmmaking than what the narrative requires. Sure, it’s certainly entertaining to see Batman go to town wailing on Riddler’s henchmen against an apocalyptic backdrop, but it doesn’t feel like a natural escalation from the madman’s slow horror-themed introduction, Batman and Catwoman’s seductive back and forth, or Batman and Gordon kicking around ideas for answers to riddles like they’re trying to solve the daily Wordle.



At best, it’s an inelegant transition, one that is likely papered over in the mind because of the implicit knowledge that we’re watching a Batman movie, but it doesn’t at all fit if we’re supposed to think of the film as a detective movie. But what makes the fourth act feel even more out of place is that it doesn’t just go rogue tonally, but it also muddies what we’re supposed to take away from it.



Batman Is Bad, But Also Good?



What’s particularly fascinating about the initial story for The Batman is how it ultimately serves to make Batman ineffectual. Although we start with Batman stopping an assault and the Bat-Signal’s symbolic use insinuating that Batman’s newfound presence in Gotham is a deterrent to crime, that core idea is not actually carried through the rest of the narrative. Despite the character having the moniker of the “World’s Greatest Detective” in popular culture, this particular Batman is not great at that part of his job. Not only does Alfred do some of the heavy lifting for him, but Batman does not actually do much in the way of genuine detective work (chasing down leads, analyzing evidence, cross-referencing stories, etc.) beyond solving the various riddles, he stumbles his way through the bizarrely stretched out “el rata alada” business, fails to save the life of the DA with the bomb collar, and even plays directly into Riddler’s hands by delivering Carmine Falcone into the precise spot he wanted to assassinate him.



By the time Riddler is caught, everything that he had (initially) set out to achieve had been achieved, beyond, of course, killing Bruce Wayne. Yet, the Riddler has choice words about him, declaring Bruce “not really an orphan” because of his wealth. More importantly, Riddler earlier revealed Thomas Wayne’s potential involvement in the death of a journalist who wanted to publish embarrassing information about his wife Martha, which directly correlates to how Thomas’ Renewal charity ended up becoming a slush fund for gangsters and corrupt government officials instead of being used for Gotham’s underprivileged like initially intended. Because of this, a parallel is drawn between Batman’s inability to actually protect Gotham from Riddler’s scheme and Bruce Wayne’s inherited guilt for his father’s sins. Batman fails as a detective and protector of Gotham, while Bruce fails as a public figure who should be using his wealth to make up for the Wayne family’s misdeeds. In a way, the movie is taking the stance that Bruce Wayne maybe shouldn’t have been Batman at all.



Yet this is only a nominal point, because the movie chickens out on it both coming and going. Not only does Alfred absolve Thomas of guilt for the journalist’s death only a scene after Falcone implies it was Thomas’ fault, but Batman doesn’t have to reckon with failing because the movie contrives an excuse for him to make up for it with the action-heavy fourth act. It doesn’t matter that Bruce delivered Falcone into Riddler’s hands, or that he had been ignoring Gotham’s public eye and structural inequities outside of being a vigilante before this point. Riddler declares that Gotham Dies Tonight and Batman gets an easy out to show everyone that he’s the superhero they’ve always needed. Yes, in a vacuum, the scene where Batman lights a flare and leads the people trapped in the flooded arena to safety is potent, but it doesn’t meaningfully build off of the previous acts because up to that point The Batman was far more interested in deconstructing Batman rather than providing a foundation for him.



“Foundation” is the key word here, because the main issue is that even if the movie the first two hours promises would naturally conclude with Riddler’s arrest and possibly even Batman reconsidering his crusade, you can’t do that when you already have sequels in mind, HBO Max spin-offs planned, and Joker appearances to tease. The Batman can’t commit to being a genuine noir or detective story because of outside factors that are inherent to making franchise movies at this budget level, and while the attempt is certainly respectable (and clearly lucrative), this dichotomy can’t help but dilute The Batman’s ability to be what the filmmakers intended. Hopefully when The Batman 2 inevitably rolls along, the movie finds a better balance between the ending it needs and the ending it wants.

In conclusion….

Turd, Loki….take us out please…

 

[TurdFurgusonsHat]

So sorry DiFabio, Wor-Gar, JAWS, ironwez, Matticus and whomever else loved The Batman (me) BUT it seems that Turd and Loki get the last laugh after all….

The Batman ruined RUINED I SAY in 3..2..1….


It’s The Batman season, and nobody can dispute that Warner Bros. and director Matt Reeves have a smash hit on their hands. Among the most recurring compliments from audiences and critics is the film’s emulation of noir, horror, and detective stories, with many citing The Batman as having been more influenced by movies like Se7en than fellow superhero films. Yet, although The Batman undoubtedly contains elements of detective fiction in its tone and structure, it doesn’t commit to the genre as much as the film’s proponents would have you believe.



We have to discuss The Batman’s “fourth act,” and how it unravels its lofty genre ambitions.



The Batman’s narrative seems to come to a fitting enough conclusion when The Riddler is captured after completing his original scheme and winds up in Arkham. For more than two hours, The Batman is relatively low-key for a big-budget superhero movie. It’s certainly not devoid of action (there’s the incredible Batmobile chase for one thing!), but Batman spends much more time talking to people and skulking around crime scenes than beating up thugs. If we take the idea that The Batman is supposed to be a “detective movie” first and foremost at face value, then we have to consider the genre conventions, which means a story that’s more about reveals than bombast, more cerebral than IMAX-ready.



For a significant portion of the movie, this idea tracks. However, it all goes out the window when Riddler is put in Arkham and reveals that he had a second, secret plan all along to blow up Gotham’s waterfront and call in an army of his (Twitch? Patreon?) followers to declare open warfare on the city while it floods. It’s not exactly clear what Riddler’s endgame is here beyond mass market chaos, with the only concrete part of this plot being the attempted assassination of the city’s new mayor, Bella Reál. It’s a complete left-field swerve tonally and plot-wise, one that feels more mandated by the expectations of big-budget studio filmmaking than what the narrative requires. Sure, it’s certainly entertaining to see Batman go to town wailing on Riddler’s henchmen against an apocalyptic backdrop, but it doesn’t feel like a natural escalation from the madman’s slow horror-themed introduction, Batman and Catwoman’s seductive back and forth, or Batman and Gordon kicking around ideas for answers to riddles like they’re trying to solve the daily Wordle.



At best, it’s an inelegant transition, one that is likely papered over in the mind because of the implicit knowledge that we’re watching a Batman movie, but it doesn’t at all fit if we’re supposed to think of the film as a detective movie. But what makes the fourth act feel even more out of place is that it doesn’t just go rogue tonally, but it also muddies what we’re supposed to take away from it.



Batman Is Bad, But Also Good?



What’s particularly fascinating about the initial story for The Batman is how it ultimately serves to make Batman ineffectual. Although we start with Batman stopping an assault and the Bat-Signal’s symbolic use insinuating that Batman’s newfound presence in Gotham is a deterrent to crime, that core idea is not actually carried through the rest of the narrative. Despite the character having the moniker of the “World’s Greatest Detective” in popular culture, this particular Batman is not great at that part of his job. Not only does Alfred do some of the heavy lifting for him, but Batman does not actually do much in the way of genuine detective work (chasing down leads, analyzing evidence, cross-referencing stories, etc.) beyond solving the various riddles, he stumbles his way through the bizarrely stretched out “el rata alada” business, fails to save the life of the DA with the bomb collar, and even plays directly into Riddler’s hands by delivering Carmine Falcone into the precise spot he wanted to assassinate him.



By the time Riddler is caught, everything that he had (initially) set out to achieve had been achieved, beyond, of course, killing Bruce Wayne. Yet, the Riddler has choice words about him, declaring Bruce “not really an orphan” because of his wealth. More importantly, Riddler earlier revealed Thomas Wayne’s potential involvement in the death of a journalist who wanted to publish embarrassing information about his wife Martha, which directly correlates to how Thomas’ Renewal charity ended up becoming a slush fund for gangsters and corrupt government officials instead of being used for Gotham’s underprivileged like initially intended. Because of this, a parallel is drawn between Batman’s inability to actually protect Gotham from Riddler’s scheme and Bruce Wayne’s inherited guilt for his father’s sins. Batman fails as a detective and protector of Gotham, while Bruce fails as a public figure who should be using his wealth to make up for the Wayne family’s misdeeds. In a way, the movie is taking the stance that Bruce Wayne maybe shouldn’t have been Batman at all.



Yet this is only a nominal point, because the movie chickens out on it both coming and going. Not only does Alfred absolve Thomas of guilt for the journalist’s death only a scene after Falcone implies it was Thomas’ fault, but Batman doesn’t have to reckon with failing because the movie contrives an excuse for him to make up for it with the action-heavy fourth act. It doesn’t matter that Bruce delivered Falcone into Riddler’s hands, or that he had been ignoring Gotham’s public eye and structural inequities outside of being a vigilante before this point. Riddler declares that Gotham Dies Tonight and Batman gets an easy out to show everyone that he’s the superhero they’ve always needed. Yes, in a vacuum, the scene where Batman lights a flare and leads the people trapped in the flooded arena to safety is potent, but it doesn’t meaningfully build off of the previous acts because up to that point The Batman was far more interested in deconstructing Batman rather than providing a foundation for him.



“Foundation” is the key word here, because the main issue is that even if the movie the first two hours promises would naturally conclude with Riddler’s arrest and possibly even Batman reconsidering his crusade, you can’t do that when you already have sequels in mind, HBO Max spin-offs planned, and Joker appearances to tease. The Batman can’t commit to being a genuine noir or detective story because of outside factors that are inherent to making franchise movies at this budget level, and while the attempt is certainly respectable (and clearly lucrative), this dichotomy can’t help but dilute The Batman’s ability to be what the filmmakers intended. Hopefully when The Batman 2 inevitably rolls along, the movie finds a better balance between the ending it needs and the ending it wants.

In conclusion….

Turd, Loki….take us out please…

View attachment 566144

Jesus jye you can't expect me to read all that. Honestly I didn't hate the movie, it was OK. It's just that I would rather tweeze off my eyebrows one by one than watch it a second time.

 

[ZE_501]

The Batman ruined RUINED I SAY in 3..2..1….

LOL nah.

 

[jye4ever]

LOL nah.

Pfft even DiFabio has admitted that anything post Riddler jail conversation is trash so LOL yeah lol

 

[Wor-Gar]

Many words.... little meaning.