The batman it is one of the most anticipated movies of next year. Between the various delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the advances related to the film, the expectation is high. Although Batman is one of the DC characters that there is consistently the most content about, the film Directed by Matt Reeves, it raises a series of things that are, to say the least, striking. We see them.
Although about The batman there are only a couple of advances, you can already guess that Matt Reeves will bring a darker and more police vision in relation to the most famous hero of DC. From the color palette used in the photography to the different locations, such as the subway and dens of corruption, they suggest that this production will have a more mundane background than other films related to the character.
To this is added an important detail: Joker (the Joker) does not appear. While none of the other villains may have such a strong tradition and relationship with Bruce Wayne, this is not to say that their tales cannot be adapted to put a twist on recent cinematic Batman narratives.
Matt Reeves’ look at The batman
The dark knight (2005, 2008, 2012, Christopher Nolan) is, perhaps, the most important contemporary reference in relation to Batman. Three films starring Christian bale oriented to develop a character and the respective companions. Along with the story, it is also convenient to take into account different technological advances. The result? A series of films effective as an aesthetic bet and the possibility of telling, through them, a life.
This adaptation was followed Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (Zack snyder, 2016), Suicide Squad (David Ayer, 2016) and League of Justice (Zack Snyder, 2017), with Ben affleck as the protagonist. Although there are only four years apart between the films starring Affleck and Bale, the first productions about Batman were more widely separated from each other. To cite the first three, between Batman (Lambert Hillyer, 1943) and Batman and robin (Robert Lowery, 1949) there are six years apart. The next movie was developed fifteen years later, Batman: The Movie (Adam West, 1966).
The volume of films was regularized during the 90s. However, going back to the most recent ones, both Nolan’s Batman and Snyder showed a linear or stagnant version of the bat at the same time. In none of those cases was emphasis placed on the character’s youth. This is done by Matt Reeves, based on the comic Batman: Year One (Frank Miller, 1988).
What did Matt Reeves say about his adaptation?
In an interview given to Entertainment, Matt Reeves explained in relation to his idea of The batman:
“I felt like we had seen a lot of origin stories. It seems like things are going more and more towards fantasy and I thought, ‘Well one place we haven’t been is based on the way that he does. Year one to get straight into a young Batman, not being an origin tale, but referring to his origins and shaking himself to the core ”.
That explains that the Batman of Robert Pattinson looks so aggressive and upset with family matters, as opposed to a much calmer Bruce Wayne in the adaptations played by Bale and Affleck.
The villains in The batman
In that sense, the film bets on at least three villains within the story:
- Carmine falcone, interpreted by John turturro.
- Enigma, embodied by Paul Dano.
- Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot or Penguin, assumed by Colin farrell.
Enigma and Penguin are not part of the stories recently adapted for the cinema. The last time Enigma was part of a movie was in 1995, in Batman forever (Joel Schumacher). The character was played by Jim Carrey. To find an adaptation of the Penguin you have to go three years before the mentioned film. This character appeared in Batman returns (Tim Burton, 1992), played by Danny DeVito. In both cases, they haven’t been on the big screen for ten years.
The return of Enigma and Penguin
Bring back two classic adversaries in The batman It’s a Matt Reeves hit. Nolan’s trilogy had its strongest villain in Joker. In the case of Affleck’s performances, Batman had a managerial role rather than a confrontational role; still, he was also seen chasing the Joker. To these references is added Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019), based entirely on the iconic villain.
Taking into account this background, what is the point of going back to that character? Not only was there the risk of being repetitive but of wearing down an actor’s performance. The latter happened with Jared Leto, about whom there were high expectations and the story did not help him. To this is added another detail, thinking about the future key: the youth of Robert Pattinson. Yes The batman It works, it is not ruled out that the actor returns to the role and other stories about the character are explored. His adversaries also seem to go through young stages, as opposed to the maturity seen in the other adaptations. Escape in The batman From the tradition of The Jokes while still relying on classic villains is a way to refresh the Batman narrative without going out of canon.