Watched it last week on the big screen.
Overall, a very good movie. Purists will love this version of Gotham. It's equal to the Arkham series of video games with a truly dark, dreary, gothic city of crime rather than just a clone of New York. Other positives include Pattison making a very good Batman, if not a good Bruce Wayne, Batman doing a lot of actual detective work, an interesting scary take on The Riddler and a general lack of woke political messages that seem to infect all modern superhero movies (although there a couple of cheap lines, they don't hurt the movie).
The characters of Chief Gordon and Catwoman are well-done. The film overall is an example of diversity done right.
Things that I was less keen on in this reboot included its length. Like most viewers, I found myself checking my watch, the first time I have ever done this for a Batman film. Some scenes and conversations are notably bloated and in particular, the ending is badly edited and needlessly drawn out. The actor who plays Alfred, though talented, doesn't quite fit the image of Alfred like Michael Caine used to. My biggest criticism however is in some of the logical and moral conclusions Batman draws at the end of the story. I can't say more without spoiling so I won't, but I think it will become obvious to anyone who watches. Finally, Pattison is much better as Batman than as Bruce Wayne, whom he portrays as basically a dull, emo character. I really hope that the sequel sees him becoming more like the Bruce Wayne we know.
None of these negatives stop the film from being very good, however. I would love to see the world of Joaquin Phoenix's Joker merge with this take on Batman to see them go to war but that looks unlikely just now. Here's hoping, though!
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Topic: The Batman (no spoilers) (Read 1854 times)
