by Nelson
Let’s face it. Every DoubtFire reader has been waiting for my opinion on The Batman since the day it was released. It’s so bad that I’ve had to sport my best trenchcoat and hat ensemble since opening night just so I could shop in peace. Everyone on Earth cares how I feel about this movie.
Or maybe not. I suppose that’s just as likely. Probably moreso.
One of the things that I came to appreciate as my brain matured out of adolescent insanity is that characters like Gotham’s grim avenger have been around so long and interpreted in so many radically different ways that fans can legitimately pick and choose what they want. “My” Batman is defined by creators like Jim Aparo, Michael Keaton, and Kevin Conroy. But, hey, that’s me.
While watching The Batman, it resonated with me that there’s an all new generation of fans whose ideas of Batman are shaped by scribes like Scott Snyder, filmmakers like Chris Nolan, and the Arkham video games. It seems sort of weird to call yourself a fan of something if you’re mad at other fans for liking different aspects and approaches to the same thing. So, if you ever had to sit through one of my old school “Ledger Joker is no good!” rants, then, yes, I’ve learned to cope.
Anyway, there was a lot I loved about The Batman. Some of the standout elements for me were:
The Narration
Batman’s best lines from the comics usually come from the internal dialogue we got in the narrative boxes. The whole “I want you to remember the one man who beat you” speech of sheer badassery he gives Superman at the end of their epic throwdown in The Dark Knight Returns wasn’t really a speech at all. Bruce Wayne was just thinking some really cool sounding thoughts while he taught the Big Blue Boy Scout the error of his ways. Getting to hear the man himself bring us up to speed on life in Gotham during the film’s opening and closing sequences wasn’t only awesome, it made me mournfully lament the fact that no one had done this sooner. Just imagine BatKeaton monologuing about the finer points of getting nuts.
BatRecord Keeping
When I realized that Pattinson’s Batman was using a tiny camera to record his nights out and play them back later at his cave for further investigation, my gut reaction was “nuh-uh! Batman has a photographic memory!” And he does, too. But not even my unyielding traditionalism trumps the coolness of the contact lens cam. It’s probably a tool that any World’s Greatest Detective would be eager to use – whether he’s got a photographic memory or not.
On the other hand, I wanted to jump for joy the second I realized that BatPat was keeping journals chronicling his crusade. I’ve been a big fan of this concept since Grant Morrison fully embraced it during his run on the monthly series. The journals provided all sorts of neat insights into the life of a crimefighter – like the step-by-step process of digging out of a grave on those pesky occasions when you wake up buried alive. Morrison’s Batman even keeps a specialized “Black Casebook” reserved exclusively for the “weird” capers involving aliens and ghosts and color changing Batsuits. Speaking of which, I really hope this new series revisits the old “Batman wears a different color Batsuit every night to vex a criminal” story. It’s fertile ground for a true epic.
The Dark Knight’s Evolution
You hear “vengeance” so many times in this movie that you start to wonder if you missed a pre-credits segment with Pee Wee Herman revealing that it’s the day’s secret word. But, by the time the credits roll, this whole idea of revenge has come full circle in a way that I absolutely love.
One of the main ideas of the story is that Batman’s first piece of dialogue in the movie – “I’m vengeance” – isn’t really true. The character isn’t about vengeance at all. Technically speaking, vengeance isn’t even possible for The Caped Crusader. Depending on the writer, the identity of the Wayne Family killer is either left as an unsolved mystery, or it’s a guy named Joe Chill who, in one way or the other, winds up dead before Bruce can take any sort of formal revenge.
Revenge is a motivating factor, sure, but, at the end of the day, Batman is about justice and hope for the city of Gotham. Accompanying an injured girl as she’s helicoptered away from the rubble of Gotham Square Garden is the sort of thing that drives home the idea of Batman being about more than inflicting extreme pain on bad guys. That’s an important part of the job, of course. But, if Batman was really all about vengeance, he’d be The Punisher.
And everyone knows Batman would kick The Punisher’s ass and string him up for Commissioner Gordon if they ever crossed paths.
Of course there were other things about The Batman I liked. It reminds me a lot of the Netflix Daredevil series with its look and feel. The fight scenes are exactly what you see in the Arkham Trilogy, and it was neat to see the Batmobile look like a car instead of a tank. I loved the portrayal of the Gotham PD and their love/hate relationship with the local vigilante who pals around with Lieutenant Gordon. With all the fun references and callbacks to things only true BatNerds will pick up on like Hush and Batman R.I.P., it is abundantly clear that director and co-writer Matt Reeves is familiar enough with the mythos that he could probably pull a high B, maybe a low A, in my Advanced Batman Studies class.
But, of course, I’ve got a few nits to pick with this one. I can’t help it. It’s just my nature. My gripes include:
Bat/Cat off the Bat
The days of Catwoman’s life of crime being the big deal breaker in her potential relationship with Batman are long gone, and that’s just how it is. The more time passes, the more Catwoman becomes less of a villain who tows the line and leaves our pointy-eared hero conflicted and more of a full-on ally who seems more concerned with fighting alongside Gotham’s defender than even bothering to be a cat burglar at all. Or dressing up like a cat. Or even interacting with cats at all, for that matter. While there’s a little tension between the two masked animal enthusiasts, Catwoman might as well be a stand-in for Robin in this one – which is a shame because Kravitz does a fantastic job in the role.
The Costumes
It’s a matter of aesthetic tastes, and I get that, but that doesn’t change the fact that I think Batman’s cape shouldn’t have a popped collar and that Catwoman’s “costume” is absurd to the point that I don’t see the sense in even calling her “Catwoman.” For that matter, I’m not all too fond of Masked Riddler, either. It’s not a deal breaker, but I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t have liked to have seen a little bit more comic book influence when it comes to how the heroes and villains look.
Then again, times change and looks evolve. “My” Batman was sporting the classic blue and grey with a big yellow oval around the Batsymbol on his chest, but it’s been a long time since that was the character’s default look. The Batsuit is more armored looking in pretty much every current take on the character. I prefer the magical form fitting bulletproof Kevlar the comics always insisted was under the outfit the whole time whenever Batman got shot, but today’s audiences like for things to look all tactical and such. The result: Catwoman looks like a ninja who went over budget before she had a chance to grab a mask and had to make her own at the last minute, and, take away the cape and cowl and give him a black mask with a visor, and Batman would bear a striking resemblance to the latest big screen iteration of Snake-Eyes.
If I really sat down and thought about it, I’m sure I could come up with other gripes. I thought it was a bit of a stretch that Ol’ Pointy Ears would associate the term “a rat with wings” with The Penguin before thinking that it may be a reference to the guy dressed up as a giant bat, and I got Attitude Era Kane vibes with the abundant usage of red lighting, but who cares? When watching the movie with my wife last night, she observed that it seemed a whole lot like The Animated Series. I was sort of taken aback. The Animated Series is sacred to me. Was I really missing the influence of the best bit of BatMedia to ever exist?
Turns out that, yeah, I was. It looks different. It’s modernized, live action, and far more grounded (maybe a bit too grounded, but that’s another article for another day) than The Masterpiece, but the influence is obvious from the soundtrack to the way Gotham looks. It’s almost a full-on noir approach to the mythos, and I damn near missed that because I was too focused on Robert Pattinson’s head looking sort of funny in the cowl.
It really does make his forehead look rather large, though.
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