The Batman Trailer

DC has bounced back from the string of bad movies that attempted to kick off an expansive cinematic universe with the amazing releases of Shazam, Birds of Prey, and the game changing Joker. In order to garner hype for future DC projects, they hosted a fan event called DC Fandome, which the trailer for the new Batman, aptly named The Batman, premiered.  All I can preface this with is…wow…it is one of the best trailers I have seen in a long time.

The trailer begins with the eerie sound of tape being ripped apart, by presumably, the Riddler (Paul Dano) who is preparing a corpse for Batman to begin his game with. The beautifully haunting strums of Nirvana’s Something in the Way begin to play, as Jim Gordan (Jeffrey Wright) reads the Riddler’s note to The Batman. Then the first clear shot of Robert Pattinson as the Batman is shown, in his makeshift year two suit. Nice action shots of Bruce Wayne, Catwoman (Zoe Kravits), and the Penguin (Colin Farrell) are shown. Then the scene that’s become the most iconic of this trailer happens, a group of thugs ask Batman who he is, to which Bruce beats the ever living hell out of one of them in a brutal manner that showcases how on edge/uneasy this interpretation of the character will be. He then replies, “I’m vengeance”. More action shots are shown as the now triumphant Something in the Way crescendos as the logo for the film shows.

The trailer’s editing, soundtrack, and tone all wonderfully display exactly what the project is trying to portray. The dark, gothic setting convinces me that this take on Batman will be something familiar, but at the same time very different, as it seems to fully embrace the inherent sinister nature of Gotham, Batman’s rogues, and Batman himself. It feels as if it combines all the amazing elements of the Nolan, Burton, and Timm interpretations of the character. The use of that specific Nirvana song beautifully accents the gloomy, almost grungy nature that the film is going for. Pattinson looks amazing as the titular character and his rogues, particularly Riddler seem like a good thorn to his side. I love how intimidating they make Riddler come off as, rather than a silly goof, he appears to be a sadistic, Jigsaw like, cold-calculated killer. Jeffrey Wright also already looks and sounds like a GREAT Jim Gordan, in spite of the stupid controversy for him being cast.

I interviewed a friend of mine , Troie Blas (12th) about his opinion on the trailer.

Q: “To what extent are you excited for this movie?”

A: “I feel very excited for this movie, as I personally really enjoy the DC universe. This film excites me because it has been quite a while since the last solo Batman movie and I hope this take on Batman gives us fans a whole new perspective.”

Q: “Do you think Robert Patitinson will be a good Batman, and why?”

A: “Personally, I think Pattinson will make a great Batman. He’s playing a far younger version of Batman, which means Bruce is less experienced. I feel as though he will have a good take on the darker side of Batman and I hope that he truly becomes the character.”

I agree heavily with Troie, I myself personally hate Batman being this near omniscient, perfect hero. I want a little bit of flaw in my Batman, without him being a straight up killer or old *cough* Ben Affleck *cough*. I think Pattinson will play a great gothic, psychologically scarred, character. Although only 25% of the film is shot, I am truly excited by what I see and can’t wait to see the other 75%.

All I can say to the people who hate Pattinson for being in romantic-schlocky movies and being cast as Bruce Wayne is, legend Heath Ledger was in rom-coms before playing the Joker…and we all know how that went.