‘The Batman’
Warner Bros.
I’m a little surprised that we didn’t get this new trailer in time for The Matrix Resurrections (unless it was in theaters and nobody spilled the beans), but it’s a fine way to distract from underwhelming Matrix Resurrections grosses. This new one is more character-focused, obviously on Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne and Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle. The film does seem to be focusing on the whole “Bruce Wayne can do more for Gotham as Bruce Wayne than as Batman” thing, which to be fair is an mostly-online debate that ignores how often the comics present him as doing plenty of good as both personas.
Heck, Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins dealt with this pretty explicitly, with the film’s feel-good climax offering up Wayne stepping up and taking an active interest in Wayne Enterprises. I’m still not a fan of the whole “Wayne acts like an idiot in public to throw off suspicion” thing, but that was an editorial edict for the comics at the time. Nolan’s trilogy also subtly dealt with the whole “Batman is a rich guy who beats up poor people for kicks” thing, as Christian Bale’s Batman almost exclusively targeted drug kingpins, mafia dons, corrupt cops and costumed supervillains.
I’m concerned (in a “doesn’t really matter because it’s just online discourse” fashion) that The Batman will bring that conversation back, with Pattinson’s clearly unwell Bruce Wayne just hammering on nameless goons in between confronting Colin Farrell’s Penguin and Paul Dano’s Riddler. It would be nice if we got a new Batman movie somewhere between “fresh-faced rookie” and “burned out past—his-prime vigilante (Ben Affleck’s Batman v Superman), but Daniel Craig’s 007 series arguably offered up the same extremes.
There is value in, for example, Tyler Hoechlin’s “been doing this for decades” Man of Steel still finding new challenges in Superman and Lois, as well as (spoiler) Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s comparatively experienced Peter Parkers offering up life advice for Tom Holland. Anyway, the big question is whether Matt Reeves’ The Batman will feel different enough from Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins, and if general audiences will be excited for “just another Batman movie” with no real butts-in-seats stars and villains we’ve seen in prior movies. I’m guessing the answer is “yes,” but maybe not “YES!”
This trailer is a step up from the last theatrical trailer, if only because it does hammer home the notion of confronting big-city politics and (presuming we’re getting Court of Owls reveals) at least some Batman comic book material not already covered in prior movies. Of course, Fox’s Gotham already offered up pretty much every viable comic arc up until around 2017-ish even if it tripped over itself in the final season by offering up yet another “No Man’s Land” adaption. Harley Quinn got away with that in season two because it played the premise for bonkers-bananas comedy (and some genuinely insightful arcs for Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon).
Does the world need another Batman movie, especially one that again offers up the Bat, the Cat and the Penguin (and the Riddler)? Probably not, and I am curious as to whether audiences will care anymore about a new Batman movie without movie stars playing villains who don’t entirely look like their comic book counterparts anymore than they did with Batman Begins ($205 million domestic/$371 million worldwide) in summer 2005.
Still, that remains one of the best comic book movies ever made, and I expect nothing less than “pretty good movie” from the man who helmed the last two Planet of the Apes sequels, Cloverfield and Let Me In. The Batman opens March 4, and it’s being positioned as both Warner Bros.’ first big offering of 2022 and (barring a miracle elsewhere) the year’s first super-duper tentpole. No one is expecting No Way Home grosses. And frankly if it’s good, I’d argue Venom: Let There Be Carnage-level grosses will be just fine for this latest Batman reboot.
