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Marqees (17 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Batman: Return to Arkham in Video Games

Feb 14, 2018  
Batman: Return to Arkham
Batman: Return to Arkham
2017 | Action/Adventure
Quality Voice acting, Great story, fluid combat system, open world (0 more)
repetitive NPC speak, overuse of detective mode (0 more)
If you are a fan of Batman and have not played Arkham Asylum and Arkham City stop what you are doing right now, currently reading my review of these games, and go play them for yourself. This game is heavily inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series lore so much so that writer Paul Dini, who help create the show, help pen the story. Reprising the role of the Dark Knight is Kevin Conroy who is the definitive Batman alongside him is his arch-nemesis the Joker voice by the legendary Mark Hamill. The plot of both games is very simple you as Batman must stop the overall plot of the Joker while fending off threats from various other Batman villains. The story is compelling, the combat fluid, and with the updated graphics very pretty to look at. On the downside, the game relies highly on Batman's Detective Mode to do all of the sleuthing and the Riddler puzzles can be tedious but overall these games are great.
  
The Batman (2022)
The Batman (2022)
2022 | Action, Adventure, Crime
Paul Dano and Colin Farrell's Performances (2 more)
The Batmobile car chase with Oz
The different/damaged take on Bruce Wayne
Entirely too long - too much detective work (2 more)
Little to no chemistry between The Bat and The Cat
The raspy adventures of Batsy and Jimbo
When is a Bat Not Quite a Bat?
Matt Reeves’ The Batman isn’t an origin story. Instead Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) treats every villain and every thug as if they were the ones to take his parents away from him. This is a version of Bruce Wayne that hates being Bruce Wayne; Batman is his legacy. The tragedy of losing his parents is his most defining characteristic. Bruce is a social hermit and the world’s biggest introvert in The Batman.

The Riddler (Paul Dano) kills Gotham’s mayor on Halloween night and he continues to target key political figures throughout the film. A cryptic riddle is left for Batman at every crime scene revealing just a big enough clue to keep Batman and Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) entangled in Riddler’s enigmatic bloodbath. As Batman crosses paths with a cat-loving thief named Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz) and the magnificently sleazy Iceberg Lounge owner Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell), he soon realizes that the Wayne family may be a bigger piece of the puzzle than he originally imagined.

Paul Dano is essentially the highlight of the film. Matt Reeves stated that his inspiration for his version of the character was The Zodiac Killer and it shows. Riddler’s costume is basically a camouflage gimp outfit with tactical advantages and a fetish for duct tape. Dano’s performance is haunting. His riddles are more akin to Jigsaw’s games from the Saw franchise. The character is at his best when he’s showcased in grainy cell phone videos where his shouting and heavy breathing are even more distorted than if he was standing right in front of you. The intriguing aspect is that Dano seems to be even more mesmerizing as the character once he’s unmasked. He’s able to tap into this lunacy, this dread, and this hypnotic terror that defines the character whether he’s hiding his face or not.

Featured less prominently is Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, who also delivers a fantastic performance. Farrell is so unrecognizable thanks to the facial prosthetics and fat suit that he’s wearing. Some of the aspects of The Penguin that makes him so dangerous is that he’s incredibly resourceful and he can talk his way into and out of just about anything. Farrell’s best moments as the character come during the Batmobile chase featured in the trailer followed by the conversation Batman and Gordon have with him immediately afterwards. You never knew how much you needed a Spanish lesson from Oz until Matt Reeves came along.

The Batmobile car chase is the best sequence of the film. It’s absolutely explosive and worth seeing in a theater. Michael Giacchino’s score is also bold and thrilling; it helps define the Batman character for a new generation with an undeniably epic theme. Matt Reeves compared Bruce Wayne to Kurt Cobain in this film. Bruce’s relationship with the spotlight and how he’d rather stay away from it is a lot like how Cobain viewed being famous. “Something in the Way” by Nirvana fits the Batman universe so well and it’s surprising nobody has ever thought of utilizing it until now.

This unusual version of Bruce Wayne in The Batman makes it feel unlike any other Batman film. Bruce Wayne is typically a playboy that is consistently showcased at public events that flaunts his fortune and bounces from woman to woman on a nightly basis. In The Batman, we see the smudged black eye makeup as Bruce takes off his cowl. Robert Pattinson didn’t bulk up for the role, so he has this pale and gaunt appearance. He has no interest in the business his father left him in charge of. Vengeance is his only purpose.

The Batman is also the first Batman film to actually feel like a detective story. So much time is devoted to the investigation aspect of the film; maybe too much time. The film is five minutes shy of being three hours long and The Batman feels like a three hour film. Some of these sequences feel like they could have been trimmed (did we really need to see Batman or Bruce Wayne go to the Iceberg Lounge so many times?) or cut entirely, but everything feels like it’s part of the bigger picture of capturing The Riddler. Every little stop along the way leads to the next clue or next big encounter. Unfortunately, it feels like a chore listening to Batman answer riddles for the sixth time in the midst of three hours.

Robert Pattinson is a seriously talented actor outside of the Twilight franchise and Zoe Kravitz chooses interesting projects to be a part of, but their chemistry in The Batman feels forced. Batman tracks down Selina Kyle almost like a stalker as he starts inserting himself into her life after a random encounter at The Iceberg Lounge. Despite being friends in real life, the two actors seem stiff and awkward when they’re around each other. These are two versions of the characters that don’t have the history the comics or the movies laid out for them after decades of publication and on screen appearances. This is supposed to be the first time they’ve met and they go from being bumbling partners to nearly leaving Gotham together after being shot at a few times and finding a dead girl in a trunk; it doesn’t make sense.

Matt Reeves was capable of taking The Batman into a different direction for both the Batman universe and superhero films alike. The action sequences are almost earned here as there’s much more down time while following a lead or doing research. You actually see that Bruce documents his inner monologues and his nightly outings as Batman in handwritten journals. There’s a ton of interesting concepts in The Batman that ultimately don’t pay off.

Paul Dano and Colin Farrell are extraordinary, but The Batman is a three hour slog through Gotham that culminates with an over exaggerated riddle that isn’t worth solving. Having Batman and Jim Gordon both speak in raspy, whispery grunts feels excessive as does Gordon’s insistence on calling Batman, “Chief,” every time that they’re together. The film deserves credit for prominently shining the spotlight on the underbelly of crime in Gotham, but the storytelling in The Batman is a lot like Bugs Bunny meaning to have taken that left turn at Albuquerque; a meandering foray down a dark rabbit hole that isn’t entirely necessary.
  
Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 7: Batmen Eternal
Batman: Detective Comics, Volume 7: Batmen Eternal
James Tynion IV | 2018 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well, boys and girls (and all non-gender folks as well), I have made to the last entry in James Tynion IV's run on DETECTIVE COMICS! Wowwowwoweeewow! What an amazing run it was!!

Following the beginnings of "Rebirth", I was excited, as it was doing away with much of the New52 stuff that was just crap, helping to restructure the DCU. Unfortunately, my initial excitement was partially crushed by Tom King, as he left me, for want of a better word, <i><b>hating</i></b> the Dark Knight!

That was the general feeling until I read Scott Snyder's BATMAN run (OMG! The Court of Owls is such a cool concept! I could totally see Faction Paradox involving themselves with the Court!) and then Tynion's run on DETECTIVE! Both writers have helped me to remember why I always liked the character of Batman, and what goes into making him cool and interesting!

This final volume, BATMAN ETERNAL, brings all of the plotlines together: the stuff with Tim Drake, angst-y Steph Brown/Spoiler (who, actually, was less angst-y, so that was great) and all her issues, Batman "vs." Batwoman, the Belfry, Cassandra Cain/Orphan and her role in the world going forward, as well as what became of [Spoiler!]. The answers given were well-thought out and fitting to the whole arc overall. Everything Tynion presented made sense, and really helped to restore Batman to being a great character, with depth and emotion. Definitely a better Batman than in the Tom King-helmed BATMAN book!

All the artists, even Eddy Barrows (who, normally, I kinda like, but the last two volumes he felt off), were top notch! Perfectly suited to the mood, environment running through this final Tynion 'TEC arc! So, let me just give a hearty applause for all their effort to Javier Fernandez, Eddy Barrows, Alvaro Martinez, Philippe Briones, Scot Eaton, Raul Fernandez, Eber Ferreira, and Wayne Faucher! Brilliant work, lads, absolutely brilliant!

Yes, I recommend this book, but more than that, I recommend you read all seven of the volumes of DETECTIVE COMICS! Some of the best, most Batman-like Batman stuff you will read!
  
Batman (1989)
Batman (1989)
1989 | Action
Well written (1 more)
Well cast
Some of Tim Burton's finer work. The slightly darker original Batman will always be a classic. Excellent casting choices with Keaton and Nicholson too.
  
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Sarah Caroline Reid (2 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham in Video Games

Jun 30, 2019  
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
2015 | Action/Adventure
Classic Lego fun with all the usual hits in a Batman theme (0 more)
Not as fun as the previous games, gets a bit lost in trying to be bigger. (0 more)
  
The Flash (2023)
The Flash (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
4
7.2 (11 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The nods to older portrayals of Batman and Superman (0 more)
Almost every element of CGI in the film. (0 more)
A half decent, if previously told, story destroyed by rubbish CGI.
  
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Hutch (9 KP) rated Batman (1989) in Movies

Jun 17, 2019 (Updated Jun 17, 2019)  
Batman (1989)
Batman (1989)
1989 | Action
Original and still the best
As good as Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy was, this is still my favourite and Keaton is still the best Dark Knight. Dark and broody and with eyebrows made for the role, Keaton delivers as both Batman and Bruce Wayne while Jack Nicholson hits the perfect balance of menace and camp with his Joker. Ps -Great soundtrack too
PPS - the Batmobile has never looked so cool