Ok so The Batman gives us a showdown for the ages in which the Dark Knight faces off against
The Riddler in a battle that spans Gotham. Batman eventually learns the whereabouts of the character
towards the end of the film after he snipes Falcone from his apartment window. However,
he actually could've caught him sooner had he paid attention to the photos of the Mayor.
These were clearly taken from a high vantage point overlooking the Iceberg Lounge which we
later find out is Edward Nashtons home. We even get a wide shot of the club at one point and in
the top corner can see Nashton looking out of his window taking photos of the lounge. Had Batman
figured out where abouts the photos were taken he could've caught Nashton sooner and the movie
would've been ten minutes long which...yeah not as fun as what we got. Sorry for ruining your day.
Now this is very much a Year Two story in which Batman is completely inexperienced so we can
excuse this. He makes mistakes throughout the film and another major one is that he
refuses to accept the Bruce Wayne side of his personality.
Though I've seen people complaining about this, I actually think it's the whole
point of the movie and had he embraced it he would've learned about Renewal a lot sooner.
Early on Alfred tells Bruce that the accountants from Wayne Manor want to
meet with him as Wayne Enterprises is getting into serious issues. This is likely because it's
hemmoraghing cash in order to line the pockets of Falcone and the corrupt people in Gotham.
Had Bruce met with them he could've learned the truth early on and then he wouldn't have
had to discover it through Edward Nashton who also just happens to be an accountant.
I absolutely love this detail and it shows that Bruce's stubborness
is somewhat his downfall. I think going forward that it's reasons like that which is why he will
need to do a Bruce Wayne begins movie and basically step back into the light.
This idea is showcased in the film itself as when he first sees Sunlight he squints
because of how bright it is whereas at the end of the movie he looks up the
sun without shifting his gaze because he's finally ready to become a beacon of hope.
I don't think it'll be long before Bruce Wayne introduces himself to the world and
speaking of introductions I've just realised I haven't told you who I am.
(I am weed)
What...no this is The Heavy Spoilers show,
I'm your host Paul aka Dickhead Grayson and this video we're gonna be making a
Harvey Dent on Youtube with our atrocious puns and insane details from the movie.
I don't think these easter eggs have been brought up in any other breakdowns and if
you enjoy it we'd massively appreciate the thumbs up button. With that out the way,
thank you for clicking this, now let's get into the rest of the video.
Ok so the movie opens up with The Riddler spying on The Mayor's son before he moves
into the home to murder the main man. This young boy is dressed in a red ninja costume
and throughout the film Bruce encounters him several times. I'd love to see this kid
become Robin at some point and we learn that he found his parents dead much like Bruce did.
The Mayor's death scene is a big one and we actually see some major Parrallels
here between The Riddler and Batman. Much like he steps out of the shadows,
The Riddler does too and the characters even carry some similarities in their masks.
Placing them side by side we can see that the nose pieces are very similar
and they of course are both geniuses that want to take down the corrupt in Gotham.
This is symbolises in the Riddler's apartment later on in which Batman sees that
he has one Bat in a cage. Just below it there are several rats and this very much represents Batman
and Gotham. He is hanging above as it's sole protector whilst the corrupt rats scurry below.
Now the film culminates with the Seawall being destroyed
which floods Gotham. However this is actually foreshadowed early on at the Mayor's home.
During the debate with Bella Real he says that she wants to gut the
Renewal project fun which will mean that vital seawall funds are also cut.
Beyond this though we can also catch a newspaper wall chronicling Don's wins
and if you zoom in on the one below the L in lies, you can catch a mention of this.
It asks whether the Seawall construction has been stalled and due to the greed of the corrupt in
Gotham it's turned it into a weak point that the Riddler exploits.
From here we cut to Gotham and get Bruce's narration, the shot of him walking through
the streets is akin to Batman Year One in which he walked downtown on his first mission. Amongst
these flashes of criminals in the city we get one robbing The Good Times Grocery Store. Now
there's been several videos that have pointed out this is a nod to the Robert Pattinson movie Good
Time. Matt Reeves cast Rob after watching this so it's a really nice detail. However I haven't
seen anyone point out yet that the robber himself actually wears similar clothes to what Pattinson
had on in the film including a grey hoody with a orangey red jacket over the top of it.
After Batman beats up the black and white gang he then travels to the Mayors office and
the shot of him walking in heavily mirrors how the police looked at Clarice Starling when she
did it in the silence of the lambs. Later on when Batman confronts The Riddler in Arkham we also
get similar framing to when Clarice met Hannibal Lector and as Batman says...it's all connected.
Now Reeves has been clear about the influences that he had when producing
this film. This includes Zodiac, Seven and Halloween. Huge shoutout to Ryan Arey for
pointing out that the opening somewhat mirrors Michael Myers introduction
as we watch things through a first person point of view. Bearing the Halloween influence in mind
I went back and rewatched the movie and we also get a scene where Michael sits in the
back of someones car before murdering them which massively plays on when Riddler does it to the DA.
(shut the f**k up Ryan Arey)
Shoutouts Greg from Reel Rejects for also pointing out that the opening is very similar
to the 70s movie The Conversation which also centres around a voyeur.
There's several voyeur shots in the movie such as when we see Bruce walking through the crowd. This
is shot all from behind as is the moment where he removes his motorbike helmet. This bit is mirroed
when we see his back scars and he walks along which is then coupled by us following Gordon from
behind. It's a really cool aesthetic that makes us feel like we're following the characters too.
Now everything is all a plan for the Riddler to get Falcone, the mob boss that runs the entire
city. Every iteration of tv and film before this has pronounced it Falcone however here I
think that they purposely changed up the pronunciation so that it's closer to falcon.
Riddler describes the character as a Rat with wings which,
though typically a bat could also be a not to a Falcon.
Riddler wants Batman to bring the Mob boss out of the club so that he can snipe him from his window
and in his final few moments it's possible that Falcone recognises Bruce. Earlier in the movie he
references a moment that was shown in the Long Halloween in which he was taken to Wayne Manor
after being shot. Falcone said that as he was being operated on that Bruce looked down at him
and this moment is very much mirrored here. He was initially supposed to die then but
was saved by Thomas Wayne and here is his actual death that Bruce failed to stop.
It's a brilliant way to mirror the characters and it's also in this
light that we see Falcone's cut on his face. This was given to him by Selina
which is a reference to Batman Year One in which she also did the same thing to him.
He also mentions Zorro at one point which was the film in the comics that
Bruce and his family went to see before they were shot and killed.
We learn in the film that he possibly had the Wayne's killed after Thomas asked him to silence
a journalist and on screen the words 'Hush' appear. The Journalists surname is also Elliot,
which is all likely a reference to Thomas Elliot aka the villain Hush in the comics. Now
DC recently released an animated movie based on the graphic novel but rather than keeping
Elliot as part of it they revealed at the end that it was The Riddler behind it.
You can interpret that the Riddler is actually the son of the journalist who was
murdered by Falcone potentially making him and Bruce even more similar than
initially suspected. They are both called Edward and though it's never confirmed,
I do kinda feel like the whole Hush connection and Riddler thing might be there.
In the photo we see of him as a child he's also in a choir which
makes sense as to why the song Ave Maria pops up so many times in the movie.
We see a cease and desist letter that is sent to him and along the top you can catch
the names Miller and Moore which are both a reference to Frank Miller and Alan Moore.
Both of which made some seminal graphic novel stories in Batman Year One,
The Dark Knight Returns and also The Killing Joke.
Not long after the Police find Riddler in a cafe and they slam his head against the counter
which cracks his glasses. This crack can actually be seen in all the appearances
he makes from this point out and I love this attention to detail from the costume department.
You can also catch that his costume has cellophane wrap behind his mask so that he
doesn't leave any DNA behind for Forensics to find. Apparently this detail is also in
the Funko pop...but I dont really know what they are so, yeah, maybe I guess.
His gang end up attacking Bella Real after the explosives go off and there's
actually a split second line in the movie that foreshadows this.
When Batman is attempting to take the collar off of Gil Colson we can
see the Riddler is livestreaming the whole thing.
Amongst the comments is one that says 'hope its a dud and we gotta
do it all again tuesday' which sets up the attack that comes at the end of the movie.
Gil Colson's licence plate is S39 7WD which could be a reference to Batman's
first appearance in Detective Comics 27 which was released in 1939. Many of the officers in
the movie are from the 39th Precinct as well and like Batman says...it's all...all connected.
Now we're wrapping up the video because I've gotta go watch the movie for a fifth time but
just a little bit of trivia for you, did you know Zoe Kravitz also voiced Catwoman in the
Lego Batman movie. There's also...also a bit where Penguin gets tied up and
he waddles like a penguin so...got those, Inane details in this insane details breakdown too.
Now I'd of course love to hear your thoughts so make sure you comment below and let me know.
If you want something else to watch then make sure you check out our breakdown of
perfect scene in Spider-Man Homecoming. We break down the entire thing so it's
definitely worth checking out if you wanna know more.
With that out the way thank you for sitting through the video,
I’ve been Paul and I’ll see you next time. Take care, Peace