{"id":24398,"date":"2022-03-02T14:18:18","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T22:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=24398"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:18:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T22:18:18","slug":"the-batman-presents-an-even-more-brooding-take-on-the-character","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=24398","title":{"rendered":"THE BATMAN Presents an Even More Brooding Take on the Comic Book Character"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This feature opens exclusively at movie theaters on\nFriday, March 4th<\/sup>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With so many \u201cBatman\u201d movies over the past few years, following the iconic comic book character and keeping his cinematic exploits in order is beginning to get confusing. At least explaining the latest DC feature The Batman<\/em> and its place among other superhero flicks is relatively simple. This appears to be the first in a standalone series of films that have absolutely nothing to do with Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice<\/em>, Justice League<\/em> or the 2019 spin-off, Joker<\/em> (at least, as far as I can tell).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But like the last title mentioned above, the adaptation is\nset in a gloomier world. Gotham City is plagued with crime and a youthful\nBatman aka Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) hunts criminals in the night, decked\nout in a bulletproof bat costume. Despite politicians and other cops calling him\na vigilante, police commissioner James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) contacts Batman to\nask for help in a series of brutal crimes. It seems that a serial killer is\nsetting up elaborate death traps for the city\u2019s elite citizens, leaving riddles\non their bodies. Batman agrees to help and dives into the seedy underbelly of Gotham\nCity, encountering mobsters Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and Oswald\nCobblepot aka The Penguin (Colin Farrell), as well as thief Selina Kyle aka\nCatwoman (Zoe Kravitz). Can the caped crusader identify the murderer and save\nsome of the targets before they are all wiped out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Errrr, well, the case doesn\u2019t proceed as efficiently or as\nquickly as hoped for. In fact, the movie plays out over nearly three full hours.\nThat does allow for a few enjoyable extended interviews and confrontations\nbetween the protagonist and various foes (even if it\u2019s clear that the intent is\nsimply to establish one or two of them for future franchise movies). A few villains\nseem to be relishing their roles\u2026 Farrell looks almost unrecognizable as\nCobblepot and Turturro really stands out, landing a darkly humorous tone as\nslimy mobster Falcone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, other interactions with secondary characters are\nhard-boiled to a fault. It\u2019s one thing to be intense, but when the filmmakers\ntry to present a grittier and more realistic backdrop to the proceedings, the\ngrowling and angry outbursts do feel over-the-top. Additionally, that extended three-hour\nrunning time is a long period to meander through a straightforward mystery, especially\nwhen audiences will already have an idea of who the guilty party is based on\nthe methods used. And the film\u2019s closing argument, that a true hero must\ndeliver hope to the masses instead of vengeance, seems like an awfully obvious\nmorale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As for Pattinson, he is perfectly fine in the role of\nBatman. As mentioned previously, the movie is overly somber and he is asked to walk\nin torrential rain and brood into the camera for extended periods of time (some\ntrimming of this might have cut a good 10 minutes out of the feature), but the actor\nmanages the task. And the constant downpours appear to be a part of a grander\nwater motif. It may be a stylistic choice for visual impact or a way to suggest\nthat Gotham City needs to be washed clean, but the constant heavy rain is so exaggerated\nthat it becomes amusing (so much so that the villain\u2019s final scheme involving a\nflood almost seems like an unnecessary act). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a positive note, there is some chemistry between the lead\nand the Selina Kyle character, as well as some well-choreographed action. The\nactor handles the physical elements effectively during his beatdowns of thugs\nand crooks. There is also an impressive scene involving Batman being pursued by\ncops and leaping off of a tall building, as well as an exciting car chase that\ncauses chaos on a roadway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the end, The Batman<\/em> does its best to update the character for the modern age and it certainly succeeds in fits and starts. There are some good moments here and there, but the film is also bogged down by its ridiculous length and a supposed mystery that doesn\u2019t generate much in the way of suspense or surprises. Comic book completists will probably enjoy enough of the movie to make it a worthwhile, but casual moviegoers shouldn\u2019t be in quite as big of a rush to hurry out to this adaptation.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This feature opens exclusively at movie theaters on Friday, March 4th. With so many \u201cBatman\u201d movies over the past few years, following the iconic comic book character and keeping his cinematic exploits in order is beginning to get confusing. At least explaining the latest DC feature The Batman and its place among other superhero flicks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,4608,4668,4669,5376,10541,10912,17182,19362,19988,19989,19990,19991,19992,23989,24778],"class_list":["post-24398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-colin-farrell","tag-comic-book","tag-comic-book-adaptation","tag-dc","tag-jeffrey-wright","tag-john-turturro","tag-robert-pattinson","tag-superhero","tag-the-batman","tag-the-batman-film-review","tag-the-batman-movie","tag-the-batman-movie-review","tag-the-batman-review","tag-warner-bros","tag-zoe-kravitz"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}