🍿32: The Batman
This week's SP is a Batman bonanza as Robert Patterson dons a new cape. Also, watch Jack Nicholson's unusual acceptance at the 1975 BAFTAs.
“Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
~ Batman, 1989
Bam! Thwack! Pow!
As The Batman swept $128m at the Box Office in its opening weekend, a record in the post-pandemic era, Batman really could be the hero we need to keep cinemas alive.
It’s a win for artistry too as Warner Bros President Toby Emmerich has said that future DC films will continue to be “filmmaker-driven”, drawing a stark contrast to MCU movies, where directors aren’t given much creative control.
This may prove to be a turning point for the superhero genre, one which might help the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) grow into something that could rival the MCU.
However, while Matt Reeves’ The Batman is apparently a standalone film — the two planned TV spinoffs notwithstanding — I’d be surprised if we don’t get a sequel following the film’s commercial success. So, is it worthy of the hype? Scroll down for the full review.
Before we get into this week’s SP, a slight word of warning, there are some minor spoilers in this week’s feature review.
Now for the headlines:
Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women) is in talks to be cast in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two. Read more.
Keanu Reeves will play Batman in the upcoming DC League of Super-Pets. Read & watch here.
Will Smith returns for a sequel to the 2007 post-apocalyptic, I Am Legend, alongside Michael B. Jordan. Read more.
Director Dan Trachtenberg confirms that the Predator prequel, Prey, is set to take place in the 1700s. Read more.
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Upcoming Releases
Pleasure
UK: 13 May // USA: 18 March
Swedish director Ninja Thyberg’s debut feature film Pleasure, which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, is a journey into the Los Angeles porn industry through the lens of newcomer Bella Cherry (Sofia Kappel).
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
UK: 1 April // USA: 1 April
This coming of age story is inspired by the life of its own writer and director, Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused) as he relives what it was like growing up in the 1960s Houston, Texas.
Fact of the week
As it’s the BAFTAs this coming Sunday, here’s an interesting fact submitted by long-time SP-supporter Karen E.…
In 1975, at the 28th British Academy Film Awards, Jack Nicholson accepted his Best Actor Award for Chinatown and The Last Detail from the set of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest - a film for which Nicholson was later awarded the Oscar for Best Actor.
It’s worth noting that the One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest won no less than five of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for. It would be remiss not to mention Louise Fletcher, who won Best Actress for her iconic portrayal of Nurse Ratched, which inspired the recent Netflix series, Ratched.
Both actors can be spotted in the following clip, and if you look closely enough you might spot a very young Danny DeVito and (at the back) Christopher Lloyd.
Review: The Batman
Star rating:
3.5 (out of 5)
Where to watch:
USA: Only in cinemas
UK: Only in cinemas
Runtime:
2hr 56m
Director:
Matt Reeves
Blurb:
In the latest film featuring the Caped Crusader, Batman (Robert Pattinson) hunts down the sadistic killer that leaves a trail of clues strewn across Gotham City.
The review (SOME spoilers):
It’s been 10 years since Christopher Nolan’s iconic trilogy came to an end with The Dark Knight Rises, which has left Matt Reeves with big boots to fill. As Robert Pattinson takes over the cowl he too has the difficult job of taking on a character we’re all incredibly familiar with. So, does The Batman live up to the legacy?
There’s no argument that Reeves has given us a fresh take on a story we all know and clearly love. With this version of Batman, we’ve been given something that’s more like a detective noir than a superhero movie. It’s dark, it’s brooding and it takes itself much more seriously than any other film in the franchise.
From the very beginning, this film feels different. Gotham has been reimagined with enough rain to make it look like Bladerunner and the city has more dirt under its fingernails than ever before. The fight scenes also feel grittier as the long takes inject more realism into each punch than the quick-cuts often favoured by action films.
For the cast, Pattinson manages to hold his own pretty well, while Zoë Kravitz makes a fine feline cat burglar. Meanwhile, Colin Farrell is, in every sense of the word, unrecognisable as Penguin while the actor who plays Riddler (who will remain unnamed to safeguard spoilers) brings a raw brutality and madness to the film that’s reminiscent of Heath Ledger’s Joker.
However, despite its strengths, I couldn’t take The Batman as seriously as it took itself. The script is peppered with a few too many clichés and there are moments when Pattinson’s emo-mentality is a little too cringe. At the end of the day, this is a superhero film but there are times where it feels that Reeves is trying to accomplish something similar to what Todd Phillips achieved with Joker - but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Scroll down for The Critic’s Cut and to see what’s in the next issue.
If you liked The Batman…
Se7en
1995 | UK: Netflix // US: FuboTV / Amazon Prime ($3.99)
While Matt Reeves said he took a lot of inspiration from Zodiac when writing the Riddler’s character for The Batman, I already recommended that in 🍿21: The Guilty. So for more cryptic and twisted killer madness, David Fincher’s Se7en is a treat.
In the next issue:
Deep Water
UK: 18 March // USA: 18 March | Watch the Trailer
