The Batman

Product Information

That doesn’t sound like it’d encompass three hours, does it? Well…it does. The film’s running time isn’t an issue with me, I love movies that can make three hours seem like one. Christopher Nolan’s Batman films weren’t exactly short. What Reeves has done is to give Robert Pattinson a great avenue for his “signature” look. He’s not going to be one to do a romantic comedy. This role was made for him. And it also gives us a look at the darker side of the character as well as those who oppose him. It’s not a perfect movie, of course. Selina Kyle’s role was more of a distraction than a necessity. She could have easily been brought in for the sequel (this movie is part of a trilogy, of course). Still, seeing some darker and, dare I say it, more realistic villains is something of a breath of fresh air. Who’d have thought? Video: How’s it look? a touch soft by its nature but its attention detail and all of the complexity the medium and the format allow are on full display. With the HDR In all, the content adds up to nearly two hours worth of material and it’s all refreshing, not quite in-depth yet still interesting because each piece is focused—getting right to the heart of the film’s concepts. There are featurettes on the fight choreography and its in-universe thematic origins, as well as the casting of the lead actors (and the hiring of Giacchino). Each member of the Rogues Gallery and their unique motivations is explored in dedicated segments. Batman’s new ride and its insane/bespoke engineering is examined, as are a couple of the key action set pieces, and each character’s iconic costume and equipment. The best of the lot is Vengeance in the Making, which is a thoughtful 53-minute “making of” documentary that examines the actual production effort. It starts with the first day of filming, including camera tests of the actors in their costumes, then takes us behind the scenes. We learn about the origins of the film and Reeves’ involvement, the various sources of inspiration he drew upon, the way the director and his team have justified their choices and reenvisioned the characters, and the effort though which they’ve tried to present a new cinematic take on the material. Everyone you’d wish to hear from gets a chance to speak and share their insights. And we see the filmmakers struggling with COVID production shutdowns too, which made an already difficult task almost Herculean. The disc also includes a pair of good deleted scenes, one featuring Barry Keoghan as Joker and the other an extra bit of character-building with Penguin in the nightclub. What’s great here is that there’s no fluff, no filler, no marketing pablum. It would be nice to have galleries of concept artwork, but you do get to see lots of that art in the featurettes. Trailers and an audio commentary would have elevated these extras to the next level (Reeves does comment on the deleted scenes), but make no mistake—this is very good special feature content. And of course, you also get a Digital Copy code on a paper insert. [Editor’s Note: There IS a director’s commentary available, though irritatingly it’s only on the iTunes Digital version.] impressively defined full-stage crashing effects where crunching metal and spilling items are a result of the high-speed maneuvers. The Batmobile's One of the absolute highlights of this mix comes with the sound of when first hearing The Batmobile fire up its engines. The amount of bass you’ll be feeling from the subwoofer is perfect for the massive amount of horsepower that the car has. There’s a chase involving the car that is definite “demo material” and is sure to get your neighbor’s attention. This film and its Dolby Atmos mix have a lot of moments that prove that it can be pure reference material but I won’t spoil it. All and all, “The Batman” on 4K UHD Blu-ray earns itself every bit of a flawless rating for audio quality.

Looking for Vengeance (4:57) - Fight choreographer Rob Alonzo, Matt Reeves, and Robert Pattinson break down the in light and play nicely against the darker scenes in which they appear, particularly during the film's climax.Even so, The Batman is an often captivating film that, to its considerable credit, does a fine job integrating viewers into new but familiar Audio Commentary – Director Tim Burton flies solo and talks, uninterrupted, about all aspects of the production.

Rounding things out and really setting up the real dilemma here throughout the course of the film is a masked serial killer calling himself “The Riddler” ( Paul Dano) who wants to expose the corruption of Gotham City at its origins and doesn’t care who he has to kill to do so. Plus, he uses social media to get people to listen to him which can be a scary thing itself. I won’t go into much further detail about the full story and plot here in the film, as I feel I already have too much, but let’s just say this is one very intriguing detective story and one of the finer films based on “Batman” that I have ever seen. Matt Reeves has done a great job here and I cannot wait for a sequel. rendered faithfully on home video and that alone makes it worthwhile. Chances are good that if you saw The Batman in theaters, this 4K Overall, the bonus materials here are excellent. You get the exclusive digital audio commentary from Matt Reeves over on AppleTV as well as physical bonus materials on the third Blu-ray Disc included in the set. In total, the extras [not including commentary] add up to almost exactly 2 hours (120 minutes). That is my definition of a near-perfect set of extras. My only complaint, as many others will have, is that the audio commentary isn’t physically on the disc but I understand how those digital exclusives work for extras and it is not the first time that we’ve seen that. Just be happy we get the downright incredible audio commentary included with the digital copy, as it’s a must listen.recordings and scribbled journal entries -- instantly remind us of the cold and calculating John Doe. detailed, full and deep without crushing detail. Shadowy city exteriors -- much of the first act, really -- are a treat, and combined with the first-class the format allows. Whether rough urban Gotham scenery, nicely appointed clothes, or expertly revealing skin textures, there's practically no end to the

usual, preys on Gotham's simps at every opportunity; other franchise staples like Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), The Penguin (Colin Farrell), and Despite the criticism though, improvements abound here, including Batman’s modus operandi. His detective skills, which were only hinted at in previous films, are front and center here. This is also one of the only Batman films in which the character actually saves the people in front of him instead of helping them indirectly. In the opening of Tim Burton’s Batman, for example, the character witnesses a mugging and then goes after the muggers—not to stop them or retrieve stolen valuables, but to hurt and scare them. But in The Batman, a group of people are trapped under scaffolding in flooded waters, and Batman steps in to save them. That moment, and others that follow, suggest we might see a different Bruce Wayne and Batman in the sequels—someone who’s on the ground, helping those in need. So while The Batman represents a bit of a rough start for this new incarnation of the character, with ample room for improvement, it’s a good one nonetheless. The Batman: Genesis– Reeves and Pattinson explore the character of both Bruce Wayne and Batman, taking another approach to the iconic superhero. Stylistically, The Batman has its roots in the New Hollywood films of the 1960s and 70s, Taxi Driver among them, and it gives Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy a run for its money in terms of darkness and grit. (Though in fairness, Nolan’s films were about grounding Batman in the real world, while Reeves works more to capture the darkness of society’s underbelly.) The Batman borrows obvious story elements from The Long Halloween and Dark Victory graphic novels, the former of which was already referenced in Nolan’s The Dark Knight (particularly with regard to the character of Harvey Dent), though Reeves supplants the killer in that story for the Riddler while drawing heavily upon Selina Kyle’s narrative. The director’s faith in Robert Pattinson’s ability to wear the cape and cowl was likely justified by his work in The Rover, Cosmopolis, and The Lighthouse, and the actor was certainly the right choice, though his take on Bruce Wayne would have benefited from more screen time to develop the character’s relationship with Alfred (Andy Serkis). Ever the faithful servant, Alfred Pennyworth, this time played by Apes actor Andy Serkis is aimed as a man coming to terms with the monster he helped create. He knows he’s powerless to stop Bruce’s mission as Batman so he does all he can to help. He doesn’t stop to splay out some nonsensical rambling metaphor, he's the one who trained Bruce and gets to work helping him with the case in spite of any misgivings because at this point it's the only way he can help keep him alive.I want to take a moment to note that the quality of the home release drives home the fact I am hopeful The Batman will earn multiple nominations during award season, including for Greig Fraser’s cinematography, which still looks gorgeous in this home release. Fraser should earn his third Academy Award nomination for his work in The Batman, following his well-deserved nod for Lion in 2016 and last year’s win for Dune. In 4K UHD Dolby Vision, The Batman retains every nuance of its sublime award-worthy photography. The Batman” on 4K UHD Blu-ray looks awesome, as dark as it is, and I have to say that I’ve enjoyed watching it a total now of two times and find it to be more impressive each time. That said, it earns every bit of a perfect rating for video quality.

As the film opens we hear two primary sounds: the sound of a person looking through a scope breathing heavily [under a mask] and the song “Ave Maria” performed by a boy’s choir — primarily coming from the front left & right channels but also getting a nice amount of height channel presence as well as used in the rear channels. Both the sound of the man breathing [via the center channel], as he’s spying on someone and the choir performance come across as downright creepy. And I mean like really creepy and it only gets more intense with action and the subwoofer adding to that as things go along. I’ll say, without dishing out any direct “spoiler,” that it’s no secret that “The Riddler” is going to kill some people here throughout the film and you’re going to be witnessing that, which makes for one scary audio experience, especially in Dolby Atmos. A Transformation: The Penguin“ (7 minutes, 59 seconds – HD) is self-explanatory. You’ll get to see how they used an extensive amount of makeup to make Colin Farrell unrecognizable. In fact, some of his co-stars never knew they were even acting with him until told later — it’s rumored. Actor Colin Farrell also discusses his personal feelings about preparing for and playing such an iconic villain from the franchise. And, you get to hear Mike Marino (prosthetics design – The Penguin & Unseen Arkham Prisoner) discuss working on this very challenging bit of makeup as well as Mike Fontaine (prosthetics makeup artist). These two guys helped make what writer/director/producer Matt Reeves had envisioned become a reality.

Batman: Other Editions

elsewhere, are less dramatic when compared to the remastered Blu-ray, though certainly there's still a textural improvement and color refinement on where diegetic music is pumped in from just about every angle to a suitably punishing degree. Directional and panning effects are as frequent as