The
Batman 4K
(2022/DC Comics/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: B Sound: A- Extras: C+
Film: B+
Just
when you think the world of Batman might be played out, you get
another surprise. Though a stand-alone Ben Affleck film he would
also direct, but health issues left him to drop out and eventually,
the whole project was shelved. This also meant, even with Michael
Keaton coming back to the role, Affleck was joining Christian Bale,
Val Kilmer and George Clooney in retiring from the role, so Keaton
could not now be the only live-action Batman around. That means it
was time to have a ninth actor play the role and they scored a winner
with Robert Pattinson, the one time Twilight actor who had
been making a remarkable series of distinct, independent feature
films that showed he was a better actor than he might be getting
credit for. The result is Matt Reeves' The Batman 4K (2022)
and it picks up where Nolan's Batman Begins left off in many
ways.
Because
Nolan moved into large frame formats (IMAX, VistaVision, 70mm, etc.)
he could not stuck with the pure darkness in his sequels that he
started with, though he kept much of the same look. One of the
darkest superhero films visually or thematically made to date, it is
also the spiritual cousin of the first Wesley Snipes Blade
film (which put Marvel on the map and became a key transitional film
for the whole genre) and the Thomas Jane Punisher film
(underrated, getting better with age and more influential than it
gets credit for) in the realistic category.
Picking
up in merely the second year anyone has known of Batman, a sick
serial killer ironically calling himself The Riddler (the underrated
Paul Dano finally getting his due) is taunting the Gotham Police and
Batman himself. Fortunately, Batman (secretly Bruce Wayne, both well
played by Pattinson) has forged a special relationship with the
highly uncorrupt Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright doing what he
does best) as the murders get more bizarre and disturbing. Add it
connection to the power and capitalist elite of Gotham City and you
know this is going to get ugly fast.
This
power includes dirty power of organized criminals led by a highly
overconfident Carmine Falcone (the incredible John Turturro, proving
once again why he is one of the best in the business) and his deadly
underlings, including the greedy, disturbing Penguin (an
unrecognizable Colin Farrell, brilliant and scene-stealing every
time) think they have the town wrapped up. Then there is the wild
card, Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz in a career-making role, aka Catwoman,
holding her own against a very hardcore, heavyweight cast with
unbelievable panache) who is as interested in getting involved with
whomever Batman might be while more than ready to tear down the local
power structure. Too bad there are a few secrets even she does not
know and not just the caped crusader's secret identity.
The
film does an amazing job of keeping its screenplay tight and
consistent, though maybe the climax was a bridge too far, but it also
makes very clever uses of intertextual references to some of the
greatest thrillers of all time, that happen to be some of the great
films of the 1970s, including a few beyond that genre. Unlike most
people who try this, they do it, do not wallow in it and do not let
their story stop for one minute in the process. That is not easy.
This
is not for children and is part of a small, rare list of PG-13 films
that are lucky they did not get an R-rating, but it never squanders
or abuses the privilege, also conjuring the Batman comics of the very
late 1960s after the comedy of the Adam West series, going into the
mid-1970s as part of a special, adult, mature period for the
character we would never see again. It is that rare film that when I
rewatch it or any part of it, I cannot believe what they pulled off.
It is a film that asks many questions the Batman movies have not yet
(cheers to Nolan in particular for his approach) asked and that is
why The Batman 4K is a genre classic and maybe just a little
bit more.
Now
for playback performance. Hard to believe, but until this feature
film, every single big screen appearance of Batman has been shot on
35mm film or an even larger frame photochemical format, up to the
Nolan/Bale and Snyder/Affleck films as both directors insist on film.
So, 79 years since the first black and white Batman serial in 1943,
we get a 2160p HECV/H.265, 2.35 X 1, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image originating on Ultra HD
Arriflex cameras with new ALFA anamorphic lenses and underrated,
excellent J-D-C Scope lenses that work extremely well in combination.
These lenses are new, especially for the new generation of Arri 4K+
cameras and I like them, though Reeves and Director of Photography
Greig Fisher, A.S.C., A.C.S., (who just won the Oscar for his lensing
of the Dune
remake) selectively dirtied the lenses in places to add to the
darkness.
Such
strategies have been used to add realism to films taking place in
other worlds before (Soylent
Green
a great example with different intents and results that worked) and
also use the idea of going out of focus to add to the darkness. This
was famously seen with the amazing Director of Photography Tak
Fujimoto in his work on The
Silence Of The Lambs,
but with the use of a Nirvana song, it also evokes their great music
videos and especially the ones directed by Kevin Kerslake. To go
with the Grunge Rock movement, a few new styles of music video
arrived and a combination of darkness and out of focus shots were a
signature, especially in Kerslake's better videos (his commercial
success meant he had to work with some talentless, forgettable bores
to go with all the great acts he worked with) and makes it fare to
say this film uses 'Kerslake-Vision' very well as a result. Because
of the darkness, yet remarkable use of color, you get some unique
demo shots throughout. Add the great scope compositions and you have
a presentation that is very impressive!
The
regular 1080p 2.35 X 1 image on the Blu-ray is passable, but misses
so much color range, detail and depth, the difference can be like a
Blu-ray versus a DVD, so it can only be considered an inclusion just
in case a 4K player is not around.
On
the other hand, both discs include the very impressive, lossless
Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) sound
mix that is state of the art and one of the best now out there,
though it has patches of silence and no talking by necessity.
Pattinson's voiceovers sound fine too, Michael Giacchino's music
score is one of his best from an already impressive career and in an
interesting choice, they hold back overdoing the overhead and
full-12-track surrounds and sound all the time to keep it in the
relatively grim, quiet mode of the film's narrative. I had no
problem with that approach.
Extras
are nice and include Digital Copy, while the
discs add the featurettes Vengeance
In The Making
Fortunately,
a sequel is on the way and that is great, because it is the kind of
superhero genre film Marvel (especially since their Disney
acquisition) cannot make anymore because it is not child-friendly
enough. The
Batman
is a genre classic that will more than prove itself in the long run
by getting back to basics and delivering in ways even I was not
expecting.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
