Unless you’ve been actively avoiding the marketing to go into The Batman as in the dark as possible, then you’ll be fully aware that Matt Reeves looks to have crafted a grounded, gritty, and hard-hitting reboot for the comic book icon.
Where to watch: Apple TV+, Prime Video, Hulu
Of course, we’ve already been down this road before with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but everything we’ve seen and heard so far suggests that Robert Pattinson’s debut under the cape and cowl is more than capable of standing on its own two feet as a big screen Batman story the likes of which we’ve never experienced.
The action sequences look as tangible as they do expertly choreographed and phenomenally shot, and Reeves admitted during a press event (via CBR) that he outlined to the cast and crew that he wanted the set pieces to look and feel as visceral as possible, with the filmmaker wanting audiences to feel every hit the title hero takes.
“[Batman] had to be able to fight. But I wanted you to feel the punches he was taking as much as the punches he was sort of dealing out. The whole idea of the wingsuit — you see a lot of Batman stories where he does something really regal. In this one, I had looked at this footage where there was this guy on a motorcycle taking a turn super-fast, and he came off in his suit, and he was just sliding on the ground. You’re going like, ‘Wow, that’s incredible’. And then his hand catches, and he starts tumbling.
He goes into this crazy violent tumble, and then he lands on his hands and knees, and he just stays there like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m alive.’ I said to [stunt coordinator] Rob Alonzo, ‘That. That.’ That whole idea of always seeing, even in the action, their vulnerability, you see them go through — you feel their pain. I love when Rob gets up and he’s like, ‘Ugh, but anyway.'”
It sounds scarcely believable to think that The Batman is coming to theaters next week given how long fans have been waiting to see it, but the real burning question is whether or not it can possibly live up to the hype. We’re inclined to believe that it will, and all signs are pointing to Reeves and Pattinson putting a fresh spin on a character that’s been a regular fixture of the live-action blockbuster realm for over 30 years.
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