article | Zero One
The birth process of "New Batman" is very tortuous.
In the early preparations, the Batman single-player movie was planned to be written, directed and acted by Ben Affleck , but in 2017, Warner DC chose to direct it by Matt Reeves ("Don't Enter the Blind", "Hidden Chrov Archives ", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes 2, 3") and promised to give the director absolute control and decision-making power. Director Reeves then announced that he would abandon Big Ben's original script and rewrite it, and in 2019, he announced that Robert Pattinson will replace Big Ben as the young Batman in the new script. After filming started in January 2020, the starring Robert Pattinson was diagnosed with , and the filming was not finally completed in March 2021.
When "New Batman" was released recently, the global film market fell into a film desolation, so the film has become a major masterpiece that theaters are looking forward to. The film has steadily won three consecutive box office titles in North America on weekends, and its global box office is currently close to $600 million - although this result is not enough to enter the history of film, compared with the huge lineup of " Justice League " in 2017, which ended up with only $657 million in global box office results, DC comic-adapted movies have gained a foothold in the market this time after "Aquaman".
However, the audience's attitude towards "New Batman" was still divided. For this pinnacle character in the history of American comics, after the Batman trilogy directed by Nolan , it seems that it is always difficult for ordinary audiences to agree with the creators.
In "BVS: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League", the middle-aged Batman played by Daemon, is overshadowed among the superpowers. Now, Batman played by Robert Pattinson has just begun to emerge and has brought a Gotham world that is completely unrelated to the so-called "superhero movie universe" - here, Batman seems to have returned to his original "detective" role in the comics. The movie strengthens the black temperament in the Batman story, and also integrates many of the thoughts of the times and society and some brand new film language.
The three-hour film length has become the masterpiece of the year in the minds of some audiences, and it also becomes the lullaby for another audience.
is more realistic? More Detective Comics? The temperament of "New Batman"
The story of "New Batman" is set in the time not long after Bruce Wayne became Batman. The worldview of this movie is clearly independent of other DC superhero movies. Batman doesn’t have too many fancy props and force. He is just an urban vigilante wearing a mask, using violence to create fear to fight the sin and madness that breeds this corrupt city.
The comic character of Batman has been born for a long time, which also means that some basic settings are long destined: parents were shot dead in front of themselves, became Batman in order to avenge Gotham's sin, turned the enemy's fear into a weapon in the dark, with a mortal body and a top mind, the dual identities of rich children and masked vigilantes...
But at the same time, because of the usual complexity and diversity of American comics, Batman cannot be regarded as a single character-
Batman was originally serialized in "Detective Comics", his form Like closer to a detective; after Robin and other Bat family characters were created, he seemed to be a parent again; in the TV series starring Adam West in the 1960s, he became a comedy character;
60s TV series Batman and Ridder Man
comics, after the birth of Justice League, he and Superman and Wonder Woman, deal with threats far beyond the mortal level; with Frank Miller creating "Batman: The First Year" and "Batman: The Return of the Dark Knight", the darkness on him Temperament and reality are valued again. Works such as Alan Moore 's "Deadly Joke" further enriched the characters' group from supporting roles such as Joker ;
Director Tim Burton in 1989 and 1992 set the tone of the Batman movies with darkness and Gothic style; Nolan version of the Batman trilogy reached the peak of comic-adapted movies, "The Dark Knight" once topped the IMDB list, and Batman's heroic identity was sublimated and interpreted; Zach Schneider created a violent, angry and reckless Batman, and at the same time With technological power that can fight against Superman, and with Superman, the universe forces of Darkside together...
And the story of "New Batman" began with a murder case on Halloween. Batman and Sheriff Gordon interpreted the puzzle of the Ridder Man and gradually uncovered the corruption and lies of Gotham City . In the face of the unsolved problems brought by the Ridder Man, Batman gradually has more definitions of his own value of existence.
Detective-style Batman is a nostalgic interpretation against the trend, but at the same time, Batman and Ridder have never been presented like this: the revenge journey of a rich orphan and a lower-level orphan, are they really comrades-in-arms as Ridder said, or are they rational and crazy last choices beyond hatred?
The basic story contradiction of "New Batman" actually lies in interpreting the source of Batman's motivation to fight crime. In the movie, Batman uses fear as a tool to fight Gotham's sin, which has become one of the reasons why Ridder Man awakens. The latter's approach is essentially the same "revenge" as Batman, but the means have changed from Batman's non-killing to killing, and the object has changed from Batman's aimless beating criminals around to cleaning up the politicians and gangs who created the status quo of Gotham. In the end, Batman gradually saw the deep meaning of his persistence: not only a nightmare as a criminal, but also a banner and symbol of the righteous; not only fight as a side of Batman, but also as Bruce Wayne.
"New Batman" overall gives people a feeling, in fact, it is more like the sin world where Rorschach is in " Watchman ", and it is also very similar to the city in Martin Scorsese "Taxi Driver" - dark, damp, dirty, madness and horror lurking in it, Batman's deep self-talk, just like the whispers of Rorschach and Robert De Niro, full of loneliness and anger towards sin.
This darkness is different from the oil painting and religious atmosphere in "Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League".The temperament of "New Batman" is more realistic and "treating" darkness. The "mortal" nature of Batman and even villains has been significantly enhanced like never before. Penguin did not take out the fancy multi-function umbrella in the previous work. Catwoman did not exaggerated body movements and heavy makeup. Batman cooperated with the police to determine cases like in ancient comics. There were no exaggerated aircraft, powerful armored vehicles, surreal bat motorcycles, and no eye-catching beauty to disguise her identity. She only had a super bulletproof vest, a body-fighting kung fu and a detective mind.
Duyujun thinks that "New Batman" can be described in this way: Director Reeves made a style that is different from Zach Snyder and Nolan, and is a unique and stylized work. At the same time, filming Batman by restoring the detective story is a courageous challenge, and it is also a work that avoids the "theme park movie" and tends toward the traditional film context. He is like a comic-based movie with temperament between the Nolan version of Batman and "The Joker".
After Zach Schneider withdrew
"New Batman" is Warner DC's reassurance?
"New Batman" does not have a 3D version, which actually makes the black temperament of the movie not that difficult to accept. The strong visual presentation of the aesthetic style and the perfect use of the soundtrack, the overall viewing can be very good.
But the premise of having this impression lies in what kind of expectations the audience holds to watch "New Batman". The "can be shot like this" of superhero movies beyond the presuppositions of many viewers - some viewers believe that comic-revised hero movies should have a large number of special effects visual wonders, simple and easy-to-understand character relationships, and story themes suitable for both young and old; some viewers believe that superheroes should be the "modern gods" portrayed in Zach Schneider's DC movies, and the right way to describe the conflict between their human nature and divinity with a heavy and solemn temperament.
and "New Batman" is not very similar to the above two.
Director Reeves is obviously a person who doesn't have a cold about " movie universe ". Obviously, he is more inclined to the Martin Scorsese faction in the "theme park movie" debate. Reeves once said bluntly: "I respect Kevin Feige and Marvel movie producers very much... but honestly, I don't know how I will achieve it. For me, there must be some level of exploration, where I can freely find my own path. If I have to go into a framework that has been set too firmly, then I think I will be lost. And I don't think they will be satisfied with me either."
But on the other hand, the comic-revised aesthetic style established by Zach Schneider in "Man of Steel", "BVS: Dawn of Justice" and "Justice League Director Cut" is also different from "New Batman". Zach's artistic tendency toward DC comic-adapted movies is very obvious: superheroes are different from ordinary people, they are almost isolated from ordinary people's species, and there must be various conflicts between human nature and divinity. His story views are similar to "The Kingdom of Heaven" and "The Return of the Dark Knight". In terms of visual style, Zach also highly praised the ritual-sensing shots to achieve thematic expression of "Divineness and Humanity".
But Zach's film script and narrative level are hard to be excellent, and it is almost his biggest weakness in directing DC movies. Zach's best-known comic-revised movie "Watchman", is the original script with the highest maturity and restoration.
"New Batman" no longer has superhumans such as Superman and Wonder Woman involved, no longer discussing human nature and divinity, but is restored to human nature and society itself. But compared with the simplicity of characters and worldview, the audio-visual language of "New Batman" is extremely bold. The director abandoned the colorful and bright style of popcorn movie , but he did not regard darkness as a superficial element.Although the dark and sticky atmosphere is almost lingering, the pace of the movie is not blindly low and slow. The director strengthened his own Batman movie concept through the visual language of the movie:
has a stunning action scene. The fight scene of the bat in the dark briefly lit up the camera with a flash of muzzle, which is unforgettable and reminds people of the revenge in the dark and the flashlights in the dark in "The Young Man on the Guling Street"; and in common car chase scenes, "New Batman" uses a large number of close-range shots, and the tense and real atmosphere is very successful.
The use of color and the design of lens language are not without a sense of ritual. Previously, there were a large number of such famous scenes in the DC movie directed by Zach Schneider. The reflection of Batman seen by Penguin after the car chase scene in "New Batman", Gotham City at sunrise, and Batman igniting the red signal stick are also all camera languages with clear intentions, and they are well combined with the emotions of the film, and the viewing in the theater is shocking.
But compared to the Nolan version of the trilogy, "New Batman" obviously lacks some "climax points" that can easily mobilize the audience's emotions. The riddle man's difficult puzzle is difficult to easily understand by audiences with different languages and cultures. Although the final confrontation performance of the villain is shocking, it is difficult to achieve the portrayal of Batman and the Joker in "The Dark Knight", and the plot reversal is not so direct. Batman is passive from beginning to end, nor does he have the clear human reversal of "The Dark Knight". The audience's desperate emotions are difficult to release until the end of the movie.
After the epic failure of "Justice League", DC comic-adapted movies entered a stage of "justice" and each major superhero IP was filmed. Among them, there are successful ones, such as "Aquaman" directed by Wan Ziren , which has received considerable box office worldwide. "X Task Force: All Staff Assembly" invited by James Gun , also has a good reputation. "The Joker", which is in the academic style, has won numerous awards for its excellent audio-visual language and personal acting skills; but "Wonder Woman 2" is lukewarm, and personal film plans such as the Flash and Black Adam are far away, and the interconnection of the DCEU movie universe has obviously entered a standstill state.
"New Batman" may be difficult to return to the peak of the Nolan trilogy in terms of reputation and box office, but for most movie fans, its appearance still brings a light worth looking forward to DC comic-making movies. After all, aesthetics are diverse, and it is not necessary to please all viewers by shooting a superhero movie. "New Batman" can at least make a profit easily worldwide, and there may not be no balance between the market and the personality of film art.
. For Warner DC, there may be a new option that does not have to follow the path others have taken - the superhero movie universe is not necessarily the general theory of making commercial movies . Although IP value linkage has been raised to an unnegligible level, behind the fancy settings, there is still a lot of depth in the charm of comic stories yet to be explored, which is exactly what the market lacks in the current market.
So it’s not bad for directors to play their own films, right?
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