MoeFOH's Movie of the Week... Week #46

[MoeFOH]

MoeFOH's Movie of the Week 🎥

Each week we're going to spotlight a movie... be it a classic, new release, hidden gem, or outright turd... and open it for discussion: i.e. post up your favourite quotes, clips, memories... or dive deeper and give us a critique on why you think it's great, overrated, or a complete train wreck... And finally score it for us...  

All contributors go into a monthly prize draw for a 2-cigar sampler! 

PM me with suggestions if there's a movie you want to nominate for next week's discussion. 

 

Week #46: The Batman (2022)

Moe says: "I don't really know why we need so many Batman flicks or why the character/universe is even malleable enough to fulfil so many remakes or do-overs, but anyhoo... I'm a film buff and I watch the films, and like the Dr Who's or Bond's I have my favourite (saying nothing for now)... so I'm going to do a series for Movie of the Week and work backwards from the latest flick to see what y'all think as well."

Wiki says: 

The Batman is a 2022 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Produced by DC Films, 6th & Idaho, and Dylan Clark Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of the Batman film franchise. The film was directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig. It stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. The film sees Batman, who has been fighting crime in Gotham City for two years, uncover corruption while pursuing the Riddler (Dano), a serial killer who targets Gotham's corrupt elite.

Development began after Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) in 2013. Affleck signed on to direct, produce, co-write, and star in The Batman, but had reservations about the project and dropped out. Reeves took over and reworked the story, removing the DCEU connections. He sought to explore Batman's detective side more than previous films, drawing inspiration from the films of Alfred Hitchcock and the New Hollywood era, and comics such as Year One (1987), The Long Halloween (1996–97), and Ego (2000). Pattinson was cast in May 2019, with further casting in late 2019. Filming began in the United Kingdom in January 2020, but was halted in March by the COVID-19 pandemic. It resumed later in the year and concluded in Chicago in March 2021.

After the COVID-19 pandemic caused two delays to its original June 2021 release date, The Batman premiered at the Lincoln Center in Manhattan on March 1, 2022, and was theatrically released worldwide on March 4. The film was a commercial success, and grossed over $770 million against a $185–200 million budget, making it the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2022. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances, musical score, cinematography, Reeves' direction, editing, visual style, action sequences, and story, although the runtime received some criticism. At the 95th Academy Awards, it received nominations for Best Sound, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Best Visual Effects. The Batman is intended to launch a Batman shared universe, with two sequels planned and two spin-off television series in development for HBO Max. The first sequel, titled The Batman – Part II, is set for release on October 3, 2025.

Over to you!

How do you rate it out of 10? 

Post up favourite clips, quotes, etc... 

[MoeFOH]

 

[Low]

I love this movie so much that I saw it three times in theatres, and twice more since the streaming release. Seeing Batman finally presented as the "worlds greatest detective" in an actual noir film was something I had been keenly anticipating for years. When the casting was released, a lot of people disagreed with Robert Pattinson as the choice for Batman, but he had been on a tear of great performances since Twilight, plus he has the look of a man who has only been Batman for about a year. Paul Dano brought us an unhinged and brutal version of The Riddler, when he was usually seen as a comedic villain. My personal favorite scene is the reveal of the Batmobile, a roaring V8 widebody bastard child of a Dodge Charger and Ford Mustang. During that particular scene, you can hear that he actually stalls the car since he's never driven it. This movie is filled with details like that, to bring a realism to the character and story.

I could honestly gush about this movie for about 10 more paragraphs. The cinematography, sound design, lighting, set design, makeup, source material adaptation, and wardrobe, all deserve the highest of praise contributing to the mood and presenting us with a faithful version of Gothom City and Batman. Plus, it scores personal bonus points for featuring my favorite Nirvana song, Something In The Way

[Doctorossi]

I haven't seen it yet.

[cigcars]

       *Although Robert Pattinson stole my heart as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series....for me there will only be one Batman, and that is Adam West.

[bms82]

1 hour ago, cigcars said:

       *Although Robert Pattinson stole my heart as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series....for me there will only be one Batman, and that is Adam West.

Never will forget the Batman's Shark Repellent 

[Ken Gargett]

perfect timing. currently away (don't usually have netflix) and thought it looked like a movie to watch tonight. was tossing up. 

 

[Fuzz]

3 hours ago, cigcars said:

       *Although Robert Pattinson stole my heart as Edward Cullen in the Twilight series....for me there will only be one Batman, and that is Adam West.

[Ken Gargett]

well, watched it last night.

for the first half, 2/3rds, thought it was pretty good but it is way, way too long. shave off an hour and it would have been a good film.

it just got lost and convoluted and the worst crime, boring. towards the end, all i wanted was for it to end. had given up on what was happening and why. took itself way too seriously. i have no problem with long films, if they are done well. by the end, this was just bat-boring. 

what on earth is the point of yet another remake which falls short of the best - nolan's trilogy leaves this in the dust.

by the end, after such a promising start, 3/10. 

[MoeFOH]

22 hours ago, bms82 said:

Never will forget the Batman's Shark Repellent 

One of the great scenes of all-time... 

[Chibearsv]

Thanks to @Low's review, I gave it a watch last night.  It was decent enough but just another batman movie in my opinion.  There was no character development at all.  I guess, after so many batman movies, I was supposed to have that figured out ahead of time.  I really didn't care about anyone or any outcome at all.  It was excellent visually but in three hours, I expected a lot more.  I did not expect Penguin to be such an excellent driver though.  You know, flippers and all 😁  Frankly, I've had enough of Batman and Spiderman movies.  5/10  

[riderpride]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:34 PM, MoeFOH said:

One of the great scenes of all-time... 

Close second