There is a new trailer for Matt Reeves The Batman, titled 'the bat and the cat', and
it gives us a lot of new footage to obsess over leading up to the film's release, which
is due out in March of 2022. This latest trailer
continues to ooze confidence with Robert Pattinson's darkest take on Bruce Wayne, the creepy plan
of Paul Dano's The Riddler, and the fantastic chemistry that Pattinson's caped
crusader will share with Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman. In this video, I'm going to be discussing
the trailer, breaking down the new scenes on display and explaining what it all
could mean for the latest iteration of the Dark Knight on the big screen. But before
I get into it, if you want to see much more videos on The Batman leading up to its release
date, including the first video in my road to The Batman series this week, then don't
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Reddit and Instagram at cortex videos, which is all linked in the description below. But
without further a do, let's discuss the new trailer for The Batman.
So with Matt Reeves and his production team stating in Empire Magazine last week that
their goal was to make "the best Batman ever made", I think this trailer gives us a good
indication that this is part of the plan. Yes, we won't know until the film comes out
whether it's any good, but right now, this new trailer and everything we have seen or
heard so far, shows that there is a huge ambition
on the filmmakers part to make this an incredible Batman feature. The new trailer blew me away,
going deeper into the conspiracy at the heart of this film while showcasing how
the detective nature of it involves pushing Bruce Wayne to his physical and psychological
limits. It also gives us some great new looks at all of these characters and from
what we do get of Catwoman here, I must say I'm really looking forward to her scenes with
Bruce which seem to be playing out as dark and comical all at the same time. But the
added sense of complexity with a realistic and grounded tone just helps to create a bigger
impact surrounding everything we are seeing, and this new trailer is all about sending
a message.
Starting off, we get a big essence of the crippled psychology of Bruce Wayne. We learn
more deeply in this footage that Matt Reeves' movie is going into how Bruce Wayne
should have gone to therapy and given more of his family's wealth to helping those in
need. He could have taken a more traditional path when it comes to solving corruption in
Gotham City. But what I'm sure we will learn here is while this might have helped some
of the problems, there is a greater need for The Batman in his rise to getting that titular
title. We get a brief intro with Bruce and Bella Reál putting this notion at the forefront
of our minds, with Wayne enduring the hard truth about sitting on his wealth rather
than using it to make a difference. This is then answered by the mix of footage that follows
giving us a view of the action in his life as Bruce and The Batman. This is of course
a much younger and faltered version of the character, someone who is yet to be the crusader
we know, essentially putting some truth in what Bella says over the opening shots.
And we do see moments intercut of Batman relentlessly chasing down Colin Farrell's the Penguin in
a Batmobile sequence, that being all photographed with no use of CGI, making
every moment here have a physical impact alongside its potential psychological evaluation. What
I mean by this is it poses the question of whether this is in result of Bruce's
reckless actions or whether it's a moment in which the Penguin is throwing obstacles
at him and he simply retaliates. It's yet to be cleared up, but it is all connected
to this larger question of Batman's mental state,
which cinematic adaptations have down individually well in the past. Christopher Nolan's The
Dark Knight showed us a Bruce who had to learn things the hard way after the death
of Rachel and Harvey Dent, putting a spotlight on the idea of 'what Batman does, defines
him'. But The Batman looks to be taking a deeper dive into this very issue making it
the backbone of its plot, with The Riddler exploiting the Waynes, linking it to Bruce
and alongside all the other corrupt undertakings in Gotham City. It's a lesson for Bruce and
a greater examination of his psychology in a broken city.
And this is where we come to how Riddler's game seems to be linked to Bruce's troubled
psychology and what message he seems to be sending. If you remember in my footage breakdown
the other week, we were able to identify that this new riddler may in fact be an orphan
who's orphanage was underfunded and Bruce's father may have a big role in that. "The
Riddler has been asking for you," says commisioner Gordan and we learn that he has gone to extreme
lengths in order to get Batman's attention, including that of creepy video
calls. When Batman picks up, he is greeted by the Riddler saying, "You came. I've been
trying to reach you". But alongside a personal greeting, we actually get even more evidence
to position the orphenage story beat as a central pull in this new story. Catwoman refers
to Riddler's latest scheme as "all about the Waynes" in a conversation that certainly
appears to be with Batman himself, making it seem that either she knows he's Bruce already
when the movie starts or will discover his identity earlier on. The Riddler is clearly
targeting Gotham's elite and with him also knowing the identity of Batman, it gives us
the extra motivation for Bruce to suit up and take down this growing threat. It's a
personal plan from the antagonist who in the trailer,
says, "I'm just here to unmask the truth about this cesspool you call a city. You're part
of this, too". But while we don't know whether The Riddler knows his identity right
from the get-go, what's more interesting is how the Riddler may be attempting to out the
Batman's identity for his own plan, again putting personal stakes into the mission to
apprehend a dangerous serial killer. Maybe The Riddler's plan is to push Batman into
doing something over the line, driving him to
his breaking point. After all, Matt Reeves did say that this is truly a film that challanges
Bruce to his core and that they are explicitly mentioning the 'no kill' aspect of
the character. Maybe, just maybe, the events of this film lead him to a point where he
might even nearly kill the riddler in order to hide something that he could exploit.
Think of it as driving Batman crazy like in the interrogation scene in The Dark Knight,
but this time dilled up to 11. There's also a focus on the many riddles throughout the
film, giving us clues and mysteries to work out. Alongside the iconic question mark plastered
on rooftops and styled into a cup of latte, we further get an answer to the pretty
obvious one. The Riddler says, "It can be cruel, poetic, or blind. But when it's denied,
it's your violence you may find", and the Batman answers later on saying, "It's justice.
The answer's justice". And just like with the riddler website that had similar riddles
to solve last week, the title card of this trailer has symbols that once revealed say,
"you are the winged rat". It's all cool stuff used in a great way for marketing but it once
again shows us that this film will be a true detective take on Batman and the
Riddler's mysteries will be at the very heart of that.
And all of Riddler's personal questions and his greater plan results in the personal effects
that this film seems to be dissecting. We get quotes like, "All these years, you
lied to me, Alfred," showcasing a Bruce Wayne that feels betrayed by those around him. "We
all have our scars, Bruce," he replies, with shots of Wayne's battered back,
highlighting the further physical effects that he receives by being this figure. But
it's very obvious that this film is putting the emotional effects at its forefront with
all of the links to his past and his parents,
showing a Wayne pin, a symbol most likely left over from his deceased mother and father.
It's used as a motif to bring Bruce down to a
human level while the chaos ensuing in Gotham threatens to corrupt him into violent acts.
He's still a Wayne as Alfred remarks in the new trailer. But it's not just the people
close to Bruce that fear this very turn as the new footage shows Gotham's police department
expressing their own doubts, ones which show the ramifications of Gotham defending a
Caped Crusader, which the Riddler threatens to topple. There's this obvious conflict between
Batman and Gotham's police too, possibly hinting at Pattinson's character being
forced to fend for himself in the light of his families history being uncovered by the
antagonist. This conflict continues from that footage we saw in the first trailer of
things getting heated between Bruce and the GCPD making it seem like Bruce also knows
of the corrupt infestation within the department, even as he works with them to take down a
criminal who's exploiting all of it. Very deep stuff from both sides, the kind of things
that we like to see from a modern Batman film. But I think the central element here is
one that involves Bruce having to prove to the GCPD and the people closest to him like
Alfred, Gordon, and Catwoman, that he is the hero they need him to be. And maybe he'll
have to prove it to himself too. It would be a
greater emphasis on the development of his character if he goes from being a kind of
fragile recluse into the symbol the Batman is,
further living up to the title of this film. We'll have to see, but I think the personal
aspect that seems to be engrained into the narrative is probably the most intriguing
aspect when it comes to Matt Reeves Batman.
And when it comes to the most impressive elements in this new trailer, I cannot end this video
without talking about how impressive Catwoman looks and outstanding action they
seem to be delevering on. Catwoman is really introduced through her chemistry with Bruce
here but it's the way she is able to stand alone and feel like a vibrantly distinct
character at the same time. There's this steady sexual tension between the two classic figures,
which seems to grow from their first encounter at a crime scene with rapid
hand-to-hand combat. Selina Kyle says "I have a thing about strays," in response to
Batman observing all the cats around her and a later line about having nine lives is delivered
well by Kravitz. It's this weird, yet genius balance of a detective inspired tone like
that of SE7EN with all the campiness and sexiness that could really make this a unique
centre in the story. They had to make that chemistry work and I think this new trailer
sold me on the type of interactions that Batman and Catwoman will be having. Matt Reeves
has put an emphasis on the Bat and the Cat, showcasing all the tones that this movie will
use through their relationship. They have a personal connection, one that is grounded
in all the realism through a connection to this unique plotline. And coming to the action,
this latest trailer concludes with some of the most breathtaking set pieces we've seen
yet, ones which further show the prioritised realism at the centre. The disorienting photography
features both Batman and Catwoman fighting numerous goons, whether they are
police in disagreement with the caped crusader, the Penguin's men, or supporters of the Riddler's
efforts. These are most likely the riddler's men though, as briefly shown in the
footage you can see them wearing the Riddler's question mark symbol and similar duct taped
helments. And speaking of masks there's a bigger emphasis on the whole identity
question with shots of Bruce sporting his black eye makeup in a club scene and selina
wearing different wigs, almost becoming a hybrid of the multiple identities they have.
It's as if while going deeper into the characters
we are also going deeper into their differing states. It's just something else to keep an
eye on in relation to the central themes that this new movie is exploring. There's
also some final frames of an explosion at some sort of political rally, and then a shot
of Batman using guns as tools against those who
weild them. It's all brilliantly staged and reflective of the way his Batman feels towards
weapons and I can't wait to see what else he does with his own equipment in the
numerous action scenes, other than that brief shot we got of his grapple gun of course.
What's cool to note is that every action scene in this film was photographed for real,
using no cgi and instead opting for capturing everything in camera. They know it's much
more believable for the audience to do it this way, and it's images like this that will
last within this genre of film much longer then an over-emphasis on computer visual effects.
With reeves and Freiser at the helm of executing this, I cannot wait to see what
other stunning visuals they have in store for us.
But that was my brief breakdown of the Cat and the Bat trailer for The Batman. I think
this may be my favourite trailer for the film yet and one of the best trailers I've seen
this year. Yes, it gives a little bit more of the plot away but keeps an essence on the
mystery at the heart of this story and mainly how this is motivating Batman to stop or
contain everything going on. It's something we haven't gone as deep into leading up to
this new footage and it's needed to really sell this new story. And from a presentation
standpoint, the cinematography is gorgeous, as expected by Greig Fraser who shot Dune,
the action is practically staged and photographed superbly and it really does feel like a
perfect balance of commercial superhero cinema with the deeper stuff you want from a well-made
Batman flick. This is really what I love about Nolan's take on Batman and here it
seems like it could be even more of primary focus. We'll have to see, but all the new
footage is shown here and everything they have released so far just seems to constantly
be raising my hype for Matt Reeves' new film.
But I'm interested to hear what you guys thought about the new trailer for The Batman and what
are you personally looking forward to in the new film. Let me know down below in
the comments section.
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