The Batman (2022)
Directed by Matt Reeves
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
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Paul Dano is fantastic as the Riddler, who forgoes most humor or charm and instead embraces a more serial killer vibe that’s reminiscent of Zodiac or Seven .
But as The Batman progresses further, Dano’s serial-killer character that echoes the respective antagonists from David Fincher’s Se7en (1995) and Zodiac (2007) with a dash of Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw from the Saw franchise, looks like he’s trying too hard to make his Riddler a standout.
Reeves (who co-wrote the film with Peter Craig) brings an excellent amount of style to “The Batman,” though it often feels like it’s borrowing a lot from David Fincher (particularly “Se7en” and “Zodiac”) with some Michael Mann thrown in for good measure.
In using David Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac as inspirations for his vision, Reeves has made his magnum opus that rivals the best we’ve seen from any previous version of the Dark Knight on the screen.
It’s going for Zodiac , clearly, but everything involving The Riddler reminded me o f The Snowman , the infamously ludicrous 2017 serial killer movie with Michael Fassbender.
It wouldn't surprise me if this was influenced by the films of David Fincher, especially Se7en and Zodiac .
The film is more of a police procedural in the vein of David Fincher’s SE7EN (1995); it’s been noted that Reeve’s version of Riddler is partly inspired by the infamous serial killer Zodiac who operated in California in the late 1960s, hence the Fincher vibes.
But as The Batman progresses further, Dano’s serial-killer character that echoes the respective antagonists from David Fincher’s Se7en (1995) and Zodiac (2007) with a dash of Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw from the Saw franchise, looks like he’s trying too hard to make his Riddler a standout.
Reeves (who co-wrote the film with Peter Craig) brings an excellent amount of style to “The Batman,” though it often feels like it’s borrowing a lot from David Fincher (particularly “Se7en” and “Zodiac”) with some Michael Mann thrown in for good measure.
In using David Fincher’s Se7en and Zodiac as inspirations for his vision, Reeves has made his magnum opus that rivals the best we’ve seen from any previous version of the Dark Knight on the screen.
Unlike previous cinematic versions of the caped crusader, Reeves takes interesting creative liberties and steers “The Batman” into a detective noir complete with major David Fincher vibes (think if “Se7en'' or “The Zodiac” had Batman walking around).
The Caped Crusader, Jim Gordon, and Selina investigating the clues provided by The Riddler, The Riddler’s John Doe, Se7en inspired contraptions for his kills, and the slow uncovering of the rot in Gotham politics makes for a satisfying detective story that never becomes dull and engrosses the audience completely.
This iteration draws on films like Se7en and Klute , as well as famed Batman tales like Year Two and The Long Halloween .
Muy lejos de la fábrica de chorizos del hijo de puta de Kevin Feige de la factoría Marvel, responsable de dos décadas de bodrios que califican de productos excrementicios y/ o insufribles, aunque asimismo manteniendo una buena distancia para con los desastres pomposos, sensibleros y seudo importantes de Zack Snyder y los demás autómatas o mercenarios de DC Cómics que empezaron la catarata de exploitations de aquellas tres maravillas de Nolan con Christian Bale, Reeves nos ofrece un neo noir hecho y derecho con toques de horror, cine de acción y thriller testimonial que está inspirado en simultáneo en Barrio Chino ( Chinatown , 1974), de Roman Polanski, por las constantes alusiones al entramado de corrupción que atraviesa a toda Ciudad Gótica, ahora con el narcotráfico reemplazando a la especulación inmobiliaria y los chanchullos basados en el sistema de irrigación, y en Klute (1971), de Alan J. Pakula, especialmente en lo que atañe a esa premisa centrada en el devenir de un detective, el John…
But Matt Reeves’ decision to choose Robert Pattinson for the role instantly reminded me how Tim Burton made an unconventional choice picking then-primarily-comedian Michael Keaton in Batman back in 1989.
If her arc is about sleuthing out her mysterious parentage, the answer is unfulfilling and stinks of the "Joker killed Bruce's parents" contrivance of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman ."
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In fact, Farrell is totally unrecognisable in this film, giving off a strong Robert DeNiro as Al Capone vibe ala The Untouchables.
Colin Farrell plays this film's Penguin (or "Oz," presumably for Oswald) like Robert De Niro's Al Capone from The Untouchables , a rapacious, corpulent, insatiable human monster bearing little resemblance (outside of an understated dandy-ish flair to his wardrobe) to the traditional depictions of the character as an overcompensating victim of lifelong bullying (but stay tuned, as Farrell will reprise the role at length in an upcoming HBO Max series, just as Wright will play Gordon in HBO Max's upcoming Gotham PD series).
Reeves also hits the sweet spot with composer Michael Giacchino and cinematographer Greig Fraser who shoots Gotham with a glossy lens that invoked memories of “Casablanca” and “Chinatown.”
As it gradually turns out that there is the long shadow of past all over the case, Wayne delves more into the underworld of Gotham City, and the movie naturally becomes quite noirish as evoking a number of neo-noir films ranging from Roman Polanski’s “Chinatown” (1974) to David Fincher’s “Se7en” (1995).
Reeves’ film influences for “The Batman” include “Chinatown,” “The French Connection” and “Taxi Driver.”
Muy lejos de la fábrica de chorizos del hijo de puta de Kevin Feige de la factoría Marvel, responsable de dos décadas de bodrios que califican de productos excrementicios y/ o insufribles, aunque asimismo manteniendo una buena distancia para con los desastres pomposos, sensibleros y seudo importantes de Zack Snyder y los demás autómatas o mercenarios de DC Cómics que empezaron la catarata de exploitations de aquellas tres maravillas de Nolan con Christian Bale, Reeves nos ofrece un neo noir hecho y derecho con toques de horror, cine de acción y thriller testimonial que está inspirado en simultáneo en Barrio Chino ( Chinatown , 1974), de Roman Polanski, por las constantes alusiones al entramado de corrupción que atraviesa a toda Ciudad Gótica, ahora con el narcotráfico reemplazando a la especulación inmobiliaria y los chanchullos basados en el sistema de irrigación, y en Klute (1971), de Alan J. Pakula, especialmente en lo que atañe a esa premisa centrada en el devenir de un detective, el John…
It also evokes images of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver .
Batman keeps a journal that’s not too far from Rorschach’s in “Watchmen” or Travis Bickle’s in “Taxi Driver,” waxing poetic about the rotten core of Gotham and the scum that seek to rule it.
Reeves’ film influences for “The Batman” include “Chinatown,” “The French Connection” and “Taxi Driver.”
It leans hard on the metaphor of Gotham as Times Square in the time of Taxi Driver , as if we didn’t already see the same thing in the Todd Phillips Joker movie in 2019.
Reeves and Craig have carefully put their plot together but shaving off the best parts of a gumshoe mystery and blending in elements of Seven and braiding in a bit of Blade Runner for good measure.
Just as Los Angeles was a major character in Blade Runner, so is Gotham City, endlessly dark, dirty, and ominous, a major character in The Batman too.
Here, Gotham is practically postapocalyptic, featuring roving gangs like in “The Warriors” (and “The Ultimate Warrior”), “Escape from New York,” and even “The Purge,” while also boasting pollution and urban density like in “Blade Runner” and “Doomsday.”
(The city looks more than ever like an unholy convergence of Old Chicago, Modern New York, and Future Los Angeles, circa Blade Runner).
Più che alle precedenti versioni cinematografiche del personaggio, Reeves sembra aver guardato a Blade Runner , a Seven e in generale alla tradizione delle detective stories .
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Speaking of the Batmobile, when it finally gets to shine, it’s with an almost fifteen minute car chase that reminded me of both The French Connection and Bullitt !
Given the more than obvious nods to the neo noir mood and mise-en-scene of films such as The French Connection and Se7en , Reeves is pushing the realism here, though because this is Batman, there will always be a fantastical element that no one can escape from.
Reeves’ film influences for “The Batman” include “Chinatown,” “The French Connection” and “Taxi Driver.”
Colin’s maniacal performance manages to stand out even under the heavy face-scar prosthetics — it’s been reported that Farrell took inspiration for the Penguin from the ‘Fredo’ character in The Godfather (1972).
That’s all I should mention about the film’s developments that run just shy of three hours…the same running length as The Godfather .
It’s depressingly similar to the carping about Gordon Willis’ work on The Godfather back in the 70s.