A Trip to the Movies

Hey everyone!

Hope you’re having a wonderful week and I hope it stays wonderful. I’m currently hitting some serious writer’s block on where to go with this week’s part of The Hunt. I should say, I have plenty of ideas where to go, but I don’t know where to go first. It’s funny, at the start of the week it was just good old fashioned writer’s block. It wasn’t until last night that I had a breakthrough. I think it was about 2:30 in the morning when I decided to tap out and go to bed. Then I couldn’t sleep because all these ideas on where to take the story started flooding my mind. I won’t begrudge it though. I find that it’s better that I have these breakthroughs at inconvenient times than to never have them at all. Transitioning towards the topic for today, has anyone seen the new Batman film? I’ve heard a mix of takes on it, some good, some bad, some in the middle. Without spoilers, what’s your take on the new film? Time to dive in!

When I first heard about the film, I wasn’t sure what to feel about it. Truthfully, I wasn’t hyped up about another superhero film, especially Batman which has been done ad nauseum in recent years. However, I feel Robert Pattinson has been doing a lot of good work recently and him being the one to play the titular role got my attention. Then the trailer dropped and watching the beatdown that Batman unleashes on a group of thugs got me interested. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this film is darker than most superhero films have been, and I like the departure from making quirky jokes whilst the characters are supposed to be in mortal danger. It’s not that the joking is a bad thing but as consumer I need a little variety. I also appreciated the three-hour runtime. At first, I was little shocked at the length, but the film held my interest through its whole run. While I understand some people would be put off by the length of the film, I’m starting to find that longer films tend to be better. They have to be better. Three hours is a lot to ask from people. Also, I was lucky enough that the theater that I was at has reclining seats, so I was far more comfortable than with regular theater seats.

The sound in the film was solid. I think they did a good job with the music. What I believe to be Batman’s theme is thunderous and commanding. It may have just been the specific theater that I was in, but it shook me in my seat. There was another tune that they had and together they really set a somber tone. I love it when the music in a film tells a story. To me, it’s as if these songs are saying “the soul of this city and everyone in it are decaying, rotted, broken.” Then there are the sound effects; physical strikes, explosions, crashing vehicles, etc. I find they are rather brutal and have a sort of raw element to them. Based on the sound alone I couldn’t help but think “Yeah, that’s going to leave a mark.” Even the gunshots sound more brutal than in other films. I’m still trying to put my finger on it, but the gunshots sound grimy, or dirty. Personally, I think it adds power to the visuals.

Speaking of the visuals, I liked them. The scenes that take place in seedy locations of the city, which is a good portion of the film, really do look dirty and horrible, which I think is a strength over the Nolan trilogy. I mean these areas really do look bad, like lock the doors and roll up the windows bad. There are a few shots in the film that I think are beautiful. I won’t go into too much detail as to not spoil the film even though they’re not big scenes. Two scenes have the characters looking over Gotham at sunset. While I think cities are inherently eyesores, there’s something gorgeous about the sun setting on a city. Then there is a scene that’s from the trailer, Batman approaching Penguin as a fire rages behind him. I liked that scene a lot and yet it’s not elaborate, just powerful.

Overall, I feel that the story of the film was good. I like that the storyline wasn’t something that the other films have done. I believe that the central villain was only in one live action film and that was more than twenty years ago. I don’t think it is a spoiler to say it’s the Riddler, especially since the trailer makes it pretty blatant. Either way I was surprised how effective he is as a villain. I felt as if I was watching a thriller anytime he was on screen. I wanted to see what he was going to do and yet I couldn’t shake this feeling of dread, knowing what was about to happen. Batman goes through an interesting character arc, and I’d like to see what they do with the character next if they make a sequel. I do feel like the film was a bit bloated, however. I understand it’s a big film with a lot of parts to its plot. It may just be me but let me know your thoughts on it in a comment.

I’ll wrap this one up now. Overall, I like the new Batman film and I’d like to see more. I like the darker storytelling in superhero films, and I think it may give a little more life to the genre. Without spoilers, what was your favorite part of the film? Was it the visuals? Maybe the music or the plot. Did you like the acting? Keep a lookout for the part of The Hunt coming out on Friday! Thanks for reading and have a great one.

Best regards,

Aaron Kirby