this post was submitted on 22 Feb 2024
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Well yeah, but that's not the one I'm talking about. I'd be referring to The Batman, the 2022 film starring... well, let's be honest, starring Zoë Kravitz, but yeah, with Robert Pattinson as Batman. There are so many of these now that giving out titles is starting to be useless.
That one spends a bunch of time talking about how Bruce Wayne isn't doing anythign with his money to help because he's too busy seeking revenge and gets into the weeds about how charitable donations from billionaires end up being used. It's weird. And long. But it's actually alright.
And that movie makes him my favorite Batman.
He is obviously not mentally healthy, taking out his rage on the streets. He tries to portray his actions as morally justifiable, but it really isn't.
Because he is vengeance, he isn't Bruce Wayne. By not being a good Bruce Wayne, he is actively harming his community in wasting billions on crime. The Riddler attacking Bruce Wayne makes sense because Bruce Wayne has to be complicit in the use of the Renewal Fund. And if Bruce isn't aware, Alfred should be.
And when being a cosplay detective, Batman sucks. He misses several clues due to his rich white privilege. Batman believably becomes the pawn of the Riddler because Batman is too stupid to be better. In the end, Batman's best use is being a thug to beat the crap out a Mafia don's henchmen.
This is what a real life Batman would be at best.
Using the Riddler was a brilliant idea. He starts out sympathetic, and like a more violent version of Batman that brutally murders corruption. There's a deleted scene with the Joker that implies Bruce has a hard time totally disagreeing with Riddler.
That changes over the movie as he's confronted with what vengeance looks like. As much as he shouts about it in Arkham, him and Riddler are pretty much the same. That's what makes the Riddler's final scheme so pivotal I think. It explicitly becomes about vengeance -- convince disaffected extremists to gun down everyone in the high ground, where the newly elected mayor is having an election party, while flooding the rest of the city. It's explicitly revenge and vengeance, and pointedly, the new mayor is shown as trying to be a good guy and not like the corrupt fucks.
The whole movie is a huge lesson to Bruce that vengeance won't do anything and that he hasn't done anything to actually help the city. To help, he has to let the past go, and try to be a positive influence.
The movie was really realistic and down to earth, like you said, and I like it's messaging a lot. I'm hoping sequels keep that setting while Bruce starts to do more with his wealth to actually help, like the new mayor was urging him to do.
Totally agree though, the movie depicts what a real life Batman would look like -- driven by hate and anger and fury. Not a symbol or force for good. Not yet, anyway.