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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Movie Review - After Earth (2013)

 

The opening scenes give us a quick overview of the preceding events. Earth has undergone drastic changes and humans are being hunted by monsters called "Ursas" released by aliens.
 

Ursas are technically blind but hunt humans by smelling the pheromones secreted out of fear. The "Ghosting" technique involves masking one's fear and thus becoming invisible to Ursas, enabing one to kill it. General Cypher Raige (Will Smith), the "Prime Commander" is the first Ghost and is a legend for his Ursa killing skills.

Sophie Okonedo as Faia Rage and Zoë Kravitz as Senshi Raige

Cypher's son, Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) has an artistic temparament and suffers from recurring nightmare of witnessing his sister, Senshi Raige (Zoë Kravitz) being killed by an Ursa. Cypher and Kitai are emotionally distant and at Mrs Faia Raige's (Sophie Okonedo) suggestion, Cypher takes Kitai along on his mission. A generic space mishap makes them crash on Earth and only the father-son duo survive (Surprise, Surprise).
 

Cypher informs his son that other lifeforms on Earth have "evolved" to hate human beings. In addition, there are wild climate fluctuations that can put one's life in instant jeopardy. Cypher's legs are badly injured and Kitai has to go on an one man trek in the hostile territory in search of a MacGuffin to save the day (Surprise again).
 

Struck to his seat and left motionless, Cypher starts having flashbacks of his daughter and even shares some anecdotes with his son. Cue a lot of unintentional hilarity.

Jaden Smith as Kitai Raige doing some action hero type things in After Earth

The digitally created creatures on Earth (baboons, tigers) look to be computer generated rather than realistic as they are intended to be and the chase/action scenes are pedestrian.

The scientific aspects of the movie look quite outdated. The displays on Cypher's spaceship are old school and would be right at home in a B movie from the 1980s. If nothing, this movie will serve the purpose of showing the public how tough it is to make a good space movie. I definitely gained a new sense of respect for the recently released Star Trek sequel.

 

One of the shots of human heads strung on a tree reminded me of a similar shot in the Zack Snyder directed 300.
 

The initial prologue is one of the weakest I have seen with the extras running around, like in a low budget sci fi TV show.

Will Smith as General Cypher Raige in After Earth

Will Smith's usual charisma and winsome personality is lost in his performance as an emotionless warrior.

Sophie Okonedo as Faia Rage delivers the best performance, despite her limited screen time. Similarly, Zoë Kravitz is good in her role.

Lacking both imagination and humor (of the intentional kind), this is an assembly line product made with the sole purpose of launching Jaden Smith's career as a leading man.

Click on the link below to buy your copy:

Unintentional hilarity abounds, thanks to the movie's self serious tone and cliched script - Kitai's artistic nature vs Cypher's emotionless one, a subordinate asking to be raised on his one leg to salute Cypher, the cheap props in the prologue, the name "Cypher" and his designation "Prime Commander". The cliches are just one too many.
 

Contrast this with Fast & Furious 6, whose lack of self seriousness and the ability to poke fun at the ridiculousness of the premise results in some well-earned laughs.

Jaden Smith as Kitai Raige wears the same expression throughout the movie

Coming back to After Earth, I actually laughed out loud when Kitai spoke his lines for the first time. The accent used by Jaden as Kitai is hilarious. Jaden Smith delivers a one-note performance, comprised mainly of a continuous look of constipation.
 

The final encounter reminded me of the Frodo-Shelob encounter in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Ursa itself looks to be inspired from the titular creature in The Alien and the Kraken from Clash of The Titans.

M. Night Shyamalan continues his descent into cinematic abyss. One wonders how come the director of this insipid movie also made The Sixth Sense. Following the director's footsteps, the rest of the crew have also turned out mediocre work.

Funniest line in the movie - Cypher to Kitai: "Take a Knee! Take a Knee, Cadet!"

In a nutshell: A laughably bad movie, that is typical of M. Night Shyamalan but represents a rare misstep for Will Smith.

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Image Sources: Box Office Mojo, Columbia Pictures, Overbrook Entertainment and Blinding Edge Pictures

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