'The Batman' Is Here!

'The Batman'the bat and the cat weigh in

The Batman 2022

Matt Reeves's year-two reboot, heavily indebted to Frank Miller's 'Year One' and Darwyn Cooke's Ego run, with Robert Pattinson as a more insomniac, emotionally raw Batman opposite Zoe Kravitz's Selina Kyle, Paul Dano's Riddler, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, and Andy Serkis. Joanna loved it start to finish; Chris admired it more than he enjoyed it, calling the nearly three-hour runtime 'a slog' at times and the PG-13 rating a constraint on how dark Reeves could go.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm 1993

Chris's self-described favorite movie of all time (he owns it on laserdisc); Sean cites it as a heavy influence on the new film's noir tone.

Batman 1989

Tim Burton's original, and Chris's soft spot since it was the first Batman he saw on screen.

Batman Returns 1992

Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman comes up as the group's touchstone for how a cat burglar has been played before; Joanna notes Kravitz's version is far more grounded and doesn't do anything 'catlike' beyond drinking milk.

The Dark Knight 2008

Sean compares the Riddler's relationship with Batman to Ledger's Joker and Bale's Batman needing each other. Chris argues this new film shares the most tonal DNA with Nolan's trilogy, though Joanna finds Gotham here more visually distinct thanks to Greg Fraser's photography.

The Dark Knight Rises 2012

Chris hears Occupy-era overtones in how the Riddler organizes his followers, comparable to Bane's rhetoric here; also the other reference point (with Hathaway) for a Catwoman running her own agenda alongside Batman's.

In conversationSean's conversation with the director

Matt Reeves on

The Batman 2022

Reeves describes wanting an 'early years' Batman who hasn't figured himself out, driven by trauma rather than heroism, opening on the line 'I am vengeance' instead of 'I'm Batman.' He talks through the Hitchcockian, subjective camera approach and the deliberately imperfect anamorphic lenses. The Batmobile chase was shot practically, with a hard-mounted camera, modeled on 'The French Connection' and 'Bullitt'; the finished digital image was then shot out to film and back to rough up the texture. The script dates to 2017; the pandemic stretched production to five years.

Matt Reeves on

Cloverfield 2008

Reeves recalls the viral 'Transformers' trailer moment creating outsized expectations before the movie was even finished, a feeling he says returned with 'The Batman.'

Matt Reeves on

Let Me In 2010

He calls it his most personal film going in, tied to being bullied as a kid; he wrote to original novelist John Ajvide Lindqvist, who urged him to make it.

Matt Reeves on

Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2011

Rupert Wyatt's franchise-starter; Reeves came aboard for the next two entries.

Matt Reeves on

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 2014

Reeves's first Apes film, and the start of his ongoing collaboration with production designer James Chinlund, who also designed 'The Batman.'

Matt Reeves on

War for the Planet of the Apes 2017

Reeves was finishing this when he signed on to 'The Batman' in 2017; the two productions overlapped by roughly five years.

Also mentioned raised along the way

Reeves's noir and detective-movie touchstones ChinatownSerpicoTo Have and Have NotSe7enZodiacThe French ConnectionBullittBlade Runner

Elsewhere in the conversation Avengers: EndgameDuneUnchartedSpider-Man: No Way HomeTwilighttick, tick... BOOM!

Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads

TV Gotham P.D. (planned HBO Max series)The Penguin (planned HBO Max series)High Fidelity (TV series)The North Water (miniseries, referred to as 'the Northwater')PAW Patrol

Ads The Bill Simmons Podcast (promo)Boar's HeadNetflix FIFA World Cup Launch EditionAmerican Express Business PlatinumColgate Optic White