Thoughts and Feelings on the Newest Trailer
Hey guys,
Welcome back to the lab.
For today's post I thought I would speak about one of everybody's favourite superheroes, Batman. Today, September 21st, is what is known globally as Batman day. It’s a day to celebrate Batman's 80 years of history in comics; movies; TV; novels; you name it. So I thought, what better way to celebrate this than to talk about the most recent trailer for ‘The Batman’ directed by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson.
The Batman (2021) is going to be the first in a trilogy of films by director Matt Reeves, most known for his work on the planet of the apes trilogy, and stars Robert Pattinson as the titular character. The film is going to take place in the second year of Batman fighting crime and focuses on him trying to figure out the root of corruption that plagues his city and links to his own family whilst also trying to stop The Riddler (Played by Paul Dano).
The film is very highly anticipated by fans around the world, we have had small glimpses from Matt Reeves and press photos, but there wasn't anything substantial for fans to sink their teeth into until a few weeks ago where, at DC Fandome, Matt Reeves debuted the very first trailer for the highly anticipated film, let's break down some elements of the trailer and things fans, including myself, are excited to see:
The trailer starts with the sound of duct tape ripping and shows a masked man covering his victims face in tape with the words written to reveal “No More Lies”. Now fans are convinced this is the first appearance of Paul Dano’s Riddler due to him being the film's main antagonist. further backed up by a note left for Batman from the Riddler himself.
It’s here we get our first proper look at Batman and also Commissioner Gordon, Played this time by Jeffrey Wright, we see Batman working willingly with the GCPD. In past comics we see Batman butting heads with the authorities due to being a vigilante, so it's new for us to see such a co-operative relationship between them all, however this could easily change as the film progresses. Batman is still making a name for himself during this film, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the GCPD and vice versa.
From here we then get quick glimpses of other characters throughout the film, we see and hear other characters and quick events from the film such as hearing Andy Serkis’ Alfred speaking to Bruce with the line “You’re becoming quite a celebrity”, we see a car crash into a funeral Bruce is attending as he jumps to save a child, with a note addressed to the Batman assumedly addressed by The Riddler. It's clear The Riddler has a fascination with Batman, he wants Batman to notice him, Perhaps it's even an obsession?
We also then get our first glimpse at our new Catwoman, played by Zoe Kravitz, a casting fans are very excited for. We see a brief encounter between her and Batman. We also get a glimpse of Colin Farrell's Penguin too, which in this film, doesn't go by the name penguin yet. One thing that is noticeable about the characters in the trailer is, all apart from Batman, the characters' famous costumes are not visual yet, showing this takes place very early in their years of crime, just like the titular character himself. It will be fun to see how these villains develop over the course of the this film and its sequels.
After these brief glimpses we then get what is arguably the best part of the trailer. A group of thugs in face-paint challenge Batman by asking “The hell are you supposed to be?”, Here we get our first glimpse of Batman in action, he ruthlessly beats down the thug, slamming him to the ground where he continues to beat him and declaring “I’m Vengeance”. The action in this scene is very reminiscent of the Arkham Games, with Batman sparing no-one. It’s clear this version of the caped crusader is going to be different and more gritty to adaptations we have seen before.
We then get more snapshots of events from the film, such as the Batmobile, Batman using the grappling hook and also taking a point blank shot to the chest, the trailer then culminates with Batman taking off his cowl and the viewers here a tense encounter between Bruce and an unknown figure, assuming to be the riddler. The final shot of the trailer is a close up of bruce without his cowl.
Considering it is only the first teaser trailer, there is so much to unpick about this film and the world it is set in. It’s clear the film is setting up villains for future instalments whilst making sure its primary antagonist gets the screen time he deserves. The Gotham shown is this trailer is a lot darker and grittier than previous instalments we have seen before too. Seeing Batman this early in his career will be interesting for viewers as we will see his early development into this character without it being the same origin story we have seen countless times before, it gives us a chance to discover his character in a new and innovative way.
We can’t go forgetting the casting either, the film has a stellar cast line up from Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne to Andy Serkis as Alfred, We also have Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Colin Farrell as The Penguin; Paul Dano as the Riddler and Jeffery Wright as Jim Gordon. A film with this cast, led by director Matt Reeves is a film that is highly anticipated with big expectations from fans everywhere. I for one will be seeing it on release day, will you?
What did you think of the trailer? Do you have any thoughts or theories in regards to the film? Write down in the comments below!
See you soon for another post from the lab.
Stay safe, look out for each other.
Harry