Why Robert Pattinson's Batman Feels More Personal

When the opening and ending of the movie are literally delivered with the inner monologues of the main character, it really does give you some sense on how personal this take will be

“Corporate color palette” is the most apt descriptor of that visual style I’ve ever seen

A few great choices by Matt Reeves in no particular order. 1) The subtle but noticeable reaction both times as Bruce/ Batman encounters the mayor's son. A. wealthy young man with horrific first-hand knowledge of the death of a parent. 2) showing us the visceral fear and hesitation Batman encounters before jumping off the roof of police headquarters. A pretty understandable reaction. 3) taking us to the conclusion of that jump. Batman was right to be afraid, he gets hurt. Not too badly but enough that we see he is in serious pain. 4) stalling the Batmobile. Hey, stuff happens to Batman too. 5) the look on Batman's face as the catastrophic highway accident begins to unfold. You can see this chase isn't going the way he had envisioned. 6) taking Alfred's hand in the hospital. It's very subtle but several people have extended their hand to Batman throughout the movie. Alfred is the first one he's actually taken. Alfred isn't Bruce's father but now Bruce has had Alfred far longer than he had Thomas in his life. He was wrong to distance himself from Alfred and knows it now. In a way he has been fighting crime with the help of his dad. Just not his biological one. 7) the well-educated Batman doesn't speak Spanish and his wealthy upbringing doesn't allow him to recognize a common flooring tool. 8) his realizations that you can't punch crime away, he needs to be a symbol of both fear to the evil and hope to the good and that he is at least partially responsible for the Riddler. Batman's expression upon hearing henchmen also called himself "vengeance" was very well done.

Let's also remember, that you need a solid actor to create the "intimacy" and "emotionally engaging" you speak of and Robert Pattinson did that. Props to Battinson!

I am a big fan of the Nolan films. This one was also great. It was a really cool take on Batman. Robert Pattinson did an excellent job. You can really see the pain in his eyes throughout the film. Great job with your analysis as usual

I’m a huge Batman movie fan, and have watched the Burton series when I was a child, and grew up into an adult with Nolan. I love them all to this day. But this Batman was the only one that made me care about the character. I realized how much the former films relied on the villains and not Bruce. This Bruce was so sad and emotionally stunted, and the movie captures it masterfully.

My favorite moment of any Batman character on the small or big screen is when he is trying to escape and you see the initial fear when he looks off the side of the building. This 3-4 second gem humanizes Batman in a way no one else has. It draws the viewer in because we can relate to that fear he felt and we share that same feeling with him. He is not simply a machine that takes risks with no emotion, he is a man that has to face his fear to accomplish a goal. It is a tremendous part of the character's growth and you see later in the movie that he does not hesitate when face with a similar situation. Not to mention, his motivations in those different moments. He hesitates when the only motivation is his own self-preservation. At the end, he jumps confidently because the focus is saving others. Really nice detail and depth this version brought to the character.

I love how these films can coexist and one isn't all out better than the other. For example, in Batman Begins the dock scene where Batman first appears plays out like an Alien or Predator horror movie. Something moving fast in the shadows and picking people off one by one. But in The Batman you can HEAR him slowly approaching you. An unstoppable force that is coming for you and there's nothing you can do about it, like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees. Both films adopt horror movie tropes and that's amazing to me.

The close up shot and depth of field actually complements the talent of the actors and it is why we keep finding little details specially with Robert's eyes throughout the movie. How he seemed shocked and betrayed when he was being confronted from Gordon in GCPD after the bomb, the moment he said "You too?" his eyes and face just expressed that he felt betrayal. Also when he was riding the bike in the end and look through the mirror seeing Selina riding away from him, we see him daydream for a second, the life he could have before he blinked again and looked forward, more focused!

I've heard a lot that Nolan films tend to be emotionally distant and cold. Even though I vaguely agreed with that criticism, I never found it totally convincing. Your points about Nolan's shot selection, framing and color correction resonated a lot with me. His Dark Knight trilogy really have a pristine sheen to it which looks great in IMAX but maybe takes away from the movie's character. Batman Begins is probably the only one that actually tries to create a gothic atmosphere and leans into it's imperfections. It also happens to be the only movie where Bruce Wayne feels like the main character. The Dark Knight is a master class in narrative momentum but it leaves a lot to be desired in terms of meaningful character moments for Batman. They are still fantastic movies but I think I'm starting to realize that my taste in movies began to change with age.

"The Batman" is indeed a breath of fresh air in the super-hero movie landscape. I still like Nolan's trilogy, but Reeves' given me my favorite Batman - second only to TAS.

There seems to be a ton of little details sprinkled throughout the movie that pay homage to all the Batmen that came before it. The one thing I can’t unsee now is Adam Wests mask in Pattinsons mask.

I love the Nolan trilogy but I liked The Batman for its introduction to "Year Two" Batman, which is more faithful to the comics. In addition, Nolan's Batman was never really depicted as "The World's Greatest Detective" as Batman was originally presented as. I loved in the start of the movie that Gordon brought him to the crime scene so he could look around and give his opinion on what had occurred. Christian Bale's Batman also had a guy who had all his military-grade tech ready made for him, pretty much; all he had to do was paint it black and make a few minor modifications. The Batman's Bruce Wayne makes a midair miscalculation with his Bat-flight suit and crashes into the sidewalk-just like you'd expect Year Two Batman to do. He's still raw, angry, and trying to figure out how he's going to go about fighting crime. But, that's just my POV.

You nailed the reasons why this film has had such a huge effect on me. It’s a weird thing but the more I see the film, the more I love it. That’s a rare phenomenon in this age of CBM’s.

Nolan also did a pretty deep take on the Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins - but he did it differently. As you said, Nolan's character was more stoic, and that was his way to deal with the emotions after the whole yourney through the film. Reeves Batman is more voulnareble, and willing to confront his emotions, to dig out the throuth, instead of hiding it. That is the main difference, and it shows also the change in society - we stopped perceiving emotions as a weakness (overcoming ot using fear, and grief like a tool in Nolan's trilogy). We generally see them as strenght, source of humanity, and wisdom instead. That's why I love both takes on Batman - it shows different perspectives.

Oh, absolutely. Best live action Batman in my lifetime. Hands down. His Bruce Wayne looks downright haunted. Yet, at the end, it gave us a glimpse of Batman’s heart. A light in the darkness. So good. They GET Batman in a way I don’t believe Nolan did.

Having had some time to think about it, I'm pretty confident in saying Pattinson is my favorite Batman thus far. In fact, I'd say it's my favorite Batman film altogether. The Nolan films were great in their own right, fun action movies that made the caped crusader superhero fantasy accessible to anyone. But there's a certain artistry and reverence for the source material here that just feels more authentic, less compromising. It doesn't feel like I even need to see a prequel series of a sequel film. It just stands on its own as a visually engrossing and thoughtful take on Batman. I had really low expectations for this going in, especially when the lady at the counter warned us it was a 3 hour movie, but as soon as it started I felt a huge wave of relief. The way they humanized Bruce and took Batman back to his "world's greatest detective" roots made this movie feel so refreshing. And I can't lie, I actually want to go back to the theatres and see all 3 hours of it again. This video did an incredible job of breaking down the many technical and artistic reasons I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie. Great work.

Felt like Batman was gonna break his no killing rule in this film in some scenes Robert did the dark knight so good felt like every criminal he beat up was the man who killed his parents.

Probably the most in depth the Batman essay I’ve seen yet, great work

What really sticks out to me is that this movie feels so different, but is still most certainly a Batman film. The emphasis on Batman using his detective skills, more than his combat was very much appreciated, especially since there is fighting, but they don't overcook it. It's like the filmmakers knew that the audience knows that Batman is a badass fighter. So they tried to show a side of Batman that had only been touched on, but not necessarily explored, in previous films.