After Ben Affleck decided to hang up the cape and cowl, the next cinematic Batman is already on its way. Robert Pattinson will star in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes). It looks to be an intriguing new take on the character that already has fans excited.
Most fans would point to Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy as the greatest version of the Batman story. Some already see similarities between this new film and that trilogy. There are a lot of aspects about Nolan's take that this film could learn from, but there are also ways Pattinson and Reeves could improve on Nolan's version. Let's take a look at what The Batman should learn from and avoid from Nolan's Batman films.
Learn From: Grounded Take
After the Joel Schumacher Batman films embraced the ridiculousness of the character, Nolan decided to go a completely different way with a gritty and grounded approach to the story. From the gadgets to the villains to the Batmobile, Nolan's films presented it all as if this were happening in the real world.
Batman can be a part of some larger than life stories, but the character always did feel more grounded than other superheroes. If Reeves were to follow Nolan's lead, the realism of the film could make for a refreshing alternative to some of the other modern superhero adventures.
Avoid: The Occasional Detective
The character of Batman has long held the title of World's Greatest Detective, but you'd have a hard time knowing it from the movies. On the big screen, Batman is usually seen as the action hero who intimidates and beats up the bad guys. While that's certainly part of it, the detective aspect is too interesting to ignore.
Nolan's films may have embraced the detective aspect a little more than the other films, but not much. Reeves has promised a more noir-inspired version of the character that will honor his sleuth persona. This could be an opportunity to do something totally different than the other Batman films.
Learn From: Intimidating Villains
Batman has arguably one of the best villain rosters of any superhero around. There are so many iconic bad guys he has faced off with, many of which have made it to the big screen. While not all of them were huge successes, Nolan had a talent for bringing out the best in his villains.
Each one of his films gave us at least one new villain that felt like a real match for Batman and all in different ways. Ra's al Ghul tested Batman ideologically. Joker tested him mentally. Bane tested him physically. Reeves would do well to how effective it can be to have an antagonist who can push Batman to his limits.
Avoid: Villains Take The Spotlight
Perhaps Batman's villains are too good. Nolan fell into a similar issue that seems to plague most Batman films. Batman is made secondary to the exciting and outrageous villains. While Batman Begins was a solid Batman story, once the larger villains came into the picture, our hero was sidelined.
In The Dark Knight, Batman almost felt like a ing character while Bane takes much of the attention in The Dark Knight Rises. Reeves' film is packed with great villains, but he should that this is a story of Batman and the flashier characters shouldn't take the spotlight from him.
Learn From: Bruce Wayne's Struggles
Batman has always been a bit of a tortured hero. The death of his parents was usually seen as the reason for his angst, but Nolan found an interesting new approach to the inner turmoil of Bruce Wayne. He presented it as if Bruce was a reluctant hero who saw the importance of Batman as a symbol but no longer wanted to be the one to be that symbol.
Bruce Wayne can sometimes be ignored in these films, but we hope Reeves similarly finds a way to explore the struggles of the man behind the mask. Pattinson has hinted at a more disturbed hero which he could really have a lot of fun with.
Avoid: The Batman Voice
There is no arguing the fact that Christian Bale is one of the greatest actors working today and he is iconic as Batman. But he made one strange choice for his hero that proved to be a major distraction for the rest of the trilogy – the Batman voice.
It's clear what Bale was going for with an intimidating voice that hid Bruce Wayne's identity, but it was too much. Robert Pattinson is an actor known for going all the way with his performances, so we could get another interesting take on the voice, but hopefully he knows to avoid going over the top.
Learn From: Easy On The Gadgets
Along with being a crime fighter and detective, Batman also has a stellar stash of state-of-the-art gadgetry. This is another aspect of the character that can veer into self-parody as some movies went a bit too far with the kinds of gadgets he had available.
Nolan wisely went easy on this stuff, giving a solid explanation for where they all came from and ever let them take away from Batman's own skills. It would be nice if Reeves followed a similar path, downplaying the gadgets so the hero can shine on his own.
Avoid: Fight Scenes
Nolan clearly knows how to stage an exciting action sequence, but his fight sequences in the Batman films left a lot to be desired. It seems that Nolan wanted to show Batman's calculated and precise fighting style, which is interesting, but it wasn't very fun to watch.
Ben Affleck's Batman showed how fun it can be to see the Caped Crusader really unleash his skills at kicking butt. Reeves is a stellar action director so it's likely he will be staging some really fun fights with Pattinson's Batman in the middle of it all.
Learn From: Auteur Vision
Nolan was an acclaimed yet relatively unknown filmmaker by the time he made Batman Begins. Yet even with a big studio production, Nolan was able to allow his own style to come through. From there, the studio trusted Nolan and he made these Batman fells really feel like Christopher Nolan films.
DC seems to be starting to realize the importance of embracing the filmmakers' visions in their projects. Matt Reeves has proven himself to be a visionary and fascinating filmmaker. Hopefully, he is given the chance to let his own style shine through in this big project.
Avoid: Overly Ambitious Scope
As his trilogy continued, Nolan was unafraid to push the scope of each new film. The Dark Knight changed the superhero genre by making it an epic crime saga that felt totally new and exciting. However, with The Dark Knight Rises, that scope may have gotten away from him a bit.
It felt like Nolan wanted to make massive movies, but that doesn't necessarily work for Batman. He is a street-level hero so it's strange to see him diffusing a nuclear bomb in Gotham. Reeves can tell a smaller scale story that fits the character and is still thrilling.
