With The Batman – now in theaters – director and co-writer Matt Reeves has given us the first standalone film about the titular billionaire superhero since Christopher Nolan wrapped up his Dark Knight trilogy. (In fact, it’s almost a decade† We are approaching the 10th anniversary of The Dark Knight Rises, the disappointing conclusion to an otherwise fantastic series. Of course, Batman hasn’t gone anywhere, with Ben Affleck already playing him three times, and Michael Keaton will return after 30 years.) And since Pattinson has signed a three-shot deal, it’s clear Reeves plans to match Nolan with his own Batman trilogy. The Batman teases its sequel as it ends – and introduces its next villain, just like Nolan on Batman Begins.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for The Batman. Proceed at your own risk.
And it turns out to be the same: the Joker (Barry Keoghan, credited as Unseen Arkham Prisoner). Reeves isn’t outright confirming it — although I’d imagine an interview where he or anyone else does is days or weeks away — but all signs point to the Clown Prince of Crime being part of The Batman 2, The Batman Part II, or whatever the hell Warner Bros. decides to call it a sequel. There’s the “clown” comment, the unmistakable smile, and the brief blurry look on his face. It couldn’t be anyone else. And if Batman’s nemesis becomes part of a movie, you can bet he will be the main villain. A first sequel to a Batman reboot that focuses on the Joker? Where have I heard that before? No points for a correct guess – I’ve alluded to it before – it’s The Dark Knight.
The Batman — our spoiler-free review
It’s bold, funny and curious that Reeves would think to go this way with The Batman 2. Funny because, as I noted in my review, The Batman himself hit some beats that reminded me of The Dark Knight. First, there’s Riddler’s (Paul Dano) which targets Gotham City’s elite. Just like the Joker (Heath Ledger) did in The Dark Knight. Even the victims overlap. Joker went after the commissioner, a judge, the mayor (to no avail), Rachel and the prosecutor. Riddler goes after the Mayor, Commissioner, District Attorney and Bruce Wayne (he gets Andy Serkis’ Alfred instead). There is no Rachel in The Batman, but the pattern is the same: Police, Justice, Legislative, and Personal. They both supposedly have their reasons, but it comes down to playing with Batman. They are playing games.
The comparisons don’t stop there. As with The Dark Knight, after the villain is taken into custody – to be fair, the Riddler gives himself up in The Batman – our detective superhero confronts him face-to-face. The setting may be different (a hospital rather than a police station) and there may be a glass wall between the two (unlike what was the case in The Dark Knight), but the underlying tension remains the same. (Some of Riddler’s lines and planning are also reminiscent of the Joker.) Batman is powerless in his “interrogation” scenes — and the only information he extracts from the prisoner is given to him voluntarily. Of course, there are big differences, especially in when these scenes appear in the respective movies and how they fit into the bigger picture.
By making a first sequel with the Joker, Reeves invites direct comparisons. It is curious why he would voluntarily put himself in that position. It also puts Keoghan in an unenviable position. Ledger won an Oscar and several accolades posthumously — and his Joker is often credited as the greatest live-action comic book villain ever. Everyone who has played Joker since Ledger has, of course, been compared to him. Jared Leto had a one-off appearance in David Ayer’s suicide squad that was not looked upon in a friendly manner. Joaquin Phoenix did a great job in Todd Phillips’ joker but unfortunately he was stuck in a movie that had nothing to say and bordered on highly irresponsible, mental health issues equating to the capacity for violence.
Why The Dark Knight is one of the greatest movies of all time
And The Dark Knight is the movie that quietly changed the Oscars. Most in the industry agree that a Best Picture nomination for Nolan’s epic prompted the Academy to waive the rule of five Best Picture nominees. Shortly after, the Academy – the body that organizes the Oscars – announced it was expanding the field. Instead of five, a maximum of ten films could now be nominated. (This line has been revised again from the Oscars of 2022, with a set 10 films to be nominated for Best Picture in the future.) It’s thanks to The Dark Knight that comic book movies were taken more seriously — and why Black Panther was nominated for Best Picture a few years ago.
Given the sheer size of The Dark Knight, it’s audacious for Reeves to choose the Joker as the centerpiece of the sequel. But then, The Batman is a daring movie. It’s unlike any other comic book out there today. More psychological horror than what audiences expect from superhero movies these days: an action drama laced with jokes and singers. (That perception is largely due to Marvel’s rule of the genre, with its philosophy influencing even its rivals, as both DC and Sony have more or less followed suit.) In that sense, it’s a remarkably different beast than even Nolan’s Dark. Knight Trilogy. More akin to what Damon Lindelof’s guards did for superhero fare on tv.
The Batman demands a lot from its audience, and not just because it runs for nearly three hours. 176 minutes, to be exact. While Nolan slowly ramped up the run times as he let the public invest in his universe – The Dark Knight Rises (165 minutes) was longer than The Dark Knight (152 minutes), which was longer than Batman Begins (140 minutes) – Reeves demands that of going. Not only is the Batman taller than anything Nolan has released or any single Batman movie ever – it’s the longest single-character superhero film of all time. The only superhero movies longer than The Batman are Avengers: Endgame (181 minutes) and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (242 minutes), both of which were mega team-up events.
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It shows Warner’s confidence in Reeves, whose new crop of executives clearly have a greater appetite for risk than those who imposed a two-hour runtime rule on Justice League, the poorly received theatrical counterpart to Snyder’s aforementioned director’s cut. And given Reeves’ record with Planet of the Apes – I maintain that it is the best trilogy of the 2010s – I also have faith in the director of The Batman. Although I really hope he knows what he’s doing. The Dark Knight is one of my all-time favorite movies, and The Batman 2 is going to have to be something insane, special, and more legendary to keep you from looking like an too-runner. Reeves invites the comparison and he has to answer for it.
The Batman was released in theaters in India, the US and around the world on March 4.
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