The Batman (2022) Trailer - Review

The latest trailer for the upcoming blockbuster has been released.

Directed by Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, Cloverfield), the movie stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/Riddler, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/Penquin.

Check out the trailer:

 

Two things stand out after watching this trailer:

• Matt Reeves has taken the Caped Crusader back to his detective roots.
• This version of Batman is probably the angriest of  all the live action versions (at least among the ones I have seen)
  

I am happy with the first part as the Batman being a detective is one of the least explored aspects. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight briefly touched upon this facet. Credit to Matt Reeves for focusing on this.

The second part worries me. Pattinson's Batman seems bent on outdoing Batfleck on being the broodiest and violent Batman of them all. Even Affleck broke into a smile now and then as Bruce Wayne. But we get one or two shots of Pattinson without the mask and he remains as sullen as ever. This might result in a one-note performance that can get weary soon. Considering that this movie has a run time of nearly 3 hours, it could be become quite a chore to see a dour faced Batman screaming and moping around alternatively.

Speaking of Pattinson, there have been reports of alleged clashes on set between the lead actor and the director.

Coming back to the positive aspects of the trailer, Michael Giacchino's background score is amazing. He looks set to join the annals of great Batman composers along with Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.

I also liked Zoe as Selina Kyle. She comes across as spunky and spirited. I expect another stellar performance that will rival those of Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer and Julie Newmar.

The direction and cinematography looks great.

 

From a plot perspective, Edward Nashton has put his plan into motion, despite being held behind bars. Bruce Wayne/Batman seems to be losing his perspective, much to Alfred's despair. Plus, Batman seems to be getting real cozy with Selina Kyle.

 

Keeping in tone with the plot, almost all the actors look and sound solemn. I am not expecting a Batman and Robin or the Adam West series level of camp. But a little bit of humor always helps.

 

The Tim Burton 1989 movie and The Dark Knight Trilogy managed to achieve this balance of fun and serious approach to the character.

 

War for the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are two of my all time favorite movies. Matt Reeves has been the main reason I have been excited for this movie.

 

Here's hoping that the final product turns out great and we will have another great Batman series to enjoy.

 

Trivia: The song playing in the Batman trailer is “Something In The Way” by Nirvana.

 

Click here to read all my posts about DC Comics.

Image Sources: 6th & Idaho Productions, DC Comics (based on characters from), DC Entertainment, Warner Bros.

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Patti (Lili Taylor) and Doug (Frank Whaley) are two henchmen of Dollmaker. They approach homeless children, claiming to be members of the Homeless Outreach Program.

After entreating the children with treats, the thugs inject some medicine that makes them unconscious. 

Selina Kyle (“Cat” to her friends) witnesses one such kidnapping incident. The shrewd Selina does not fall prey and flees.

Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) hitchhikes his way back to Gotham city. As readers might remember, he was supposed to be executed by Detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie). Jim of course let him go, after warning him never to come back.

The guys who give Oswald his free ride are not so lucky. Oswald kills one of them and kidnaps the other for ransom.

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Jim and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) are working on the case of the missing street children. They zero in on one Morry Quillan (Wayne Duvall) based on the substance used by the kidnappers to inject the street children.

Patti and Doug are already in Morry's office, when Jim and Harvey arrive to question him. A shootout ensues and the two kidnappers make their escape. The detectives arrest Morry.

Morry provides the tip that he remembers a depiction of fork on the van used by the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, Mayor Aubrey James (Richard Kind) announces a program that will take all the homeless children off the street and send them to an institution.

Selina finds herself being forcefully packed into a bus that purports to serve the official machinery. Selina is horrified to find Patti to be in charge of the situation.

Patti intends to ship all the children to foreign shores. Jim correctly figures out the name of the company using the trident symbol (mistakenly thought to be a fork by Morry) as “Trident International Shipping”.

He arrives just in time to save Selina just as Patti is about to shoot her. Harvey arrests Doug.

Selina tells Jim that she might have information about the man who murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne.

At the request of Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Jim visits Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) at the Wayne Manor. Bruce has been “testing” himself by doing things like burning his hand deliberately.

On learning about the developments about the rescued homeless children, Bruce offers to donate clothes for them.
 

Another subplot involved Don Carmine Falcone (John Doman) checking up with Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) about her intentions to replace him as the head of Gotham underworld. Don informs her that he got this information from Oswald. Mooney reassures the Don about her loyalty and seemingly convinces him.

Privately, she regrets the fact that she did not punish Oswald more for his treachery.

For an episode titled “Selina Kyle”, we did not get to see much of the lass destined to be Catwoman. We don't know any more about Selina than what we did from the pilot episode.

We already know that she is a spunky kid with lot of street smarts to boot. This episode did not forward her character development or delved deeply into her background to justify the decision to name it after her.

On the acting front, Robin Lord Taylor continues to the best of the bunch. The reason is simple: he offers a healthy dose of humor in his performance. This factor combined with the villainy of Oswald Cobblepot naturally makes him the standout performer.

Jada Pinkett Smith continues to chew the scenery as gang boss Fish Mooney.

As I mentioned in the review of the pilot episode, Ben McKenzie could inject some humor into his performance. Granted that his character is a straight shooter and an idealist and is very frustrated with the prevalent corruption. Still his character could use some levity.

Same goes for Sean Pertwee - he also leans towards the all-serious school of acting as Alfred Pennyworth.

Casting such talented actors as Lili Taylor and Frank Whaley in what amount to one-off roles clearly shows the dedication of the show makers to deliver a product of the highest possible quality. Hats off to them.

Lili Taylor is a blast as Patti. She mixes black humor effectively and gives one of the best guest appearances in a long time.  

Recommended watch for fans of the Dark Knight/DC Comics.

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Image Sources: Warner Bros. Television, Fox Network

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