So much of a film’s narrative is delivered in the fine details, the way shots are structured, the perspective taken by the camera, and a thousand other small choices. The simplest change in visual presentation can turn a hero into a villain, or a widely despised character into a fan favorite.
Matt Reeves is the seventh director to leave their fingerprint on the big-screenBatman mythos, after Martinson, Burton, Schumacher, Nolan, Snyder, and Whedon. Every filmmaker in the bunch has put a few unique spins on the beloved character, but Reeves has made an impact by leaning even further into a common trick.
RELATED:The Batman HBO Max Viewership Beats Most WB Day-And-Date Theatrical Movies
When people picture Batman, they likely imagine him perched on a gargoyle overlooking the city, or standing on a rooftop by moonlight. He only operates at night, he loves the element of surprise, and he uses fear as one of his strongest weapons. Much of his strategic cunning is used to terrify his foes first and defeat them in combat second. Skulking around in the dark, dropping onto his opponents from where they least expect him, and eliciting screams from almost all who see him are all standard Batman behavior. It’s that kind of scare tactic that has led most of the filmmakers who’ve taken on the character to occasionally borrow tricks from horror films. Though showing off Batman like he’s Jason Voorhees isn’t a new tactic,Matt Reeves brings a new enthusiasmto the idea and does it with style.
Robert Pattinson’s take on the Bat doesn’tuse a ridiculous throaty growlwhen he speaks, but to make up for it, he barely talks at all. His armor seems substantially more effective than that of his predecessors, which allows him to walk through machine-gun fire with an unstoppable gait. In an early scene, he’s shot and hits the floor, only to disappear before the gunmen come to check the body. It’s eerily similar to Michael Myers' inexplicable vanishing at the end of the firstHalloween. Often, the audience is given the perspective of the hired guns and wanton crooks that Batman beats down. Rather than follow over the hero’s shoulder like one of theArkhamgames, Reeves lets viewers see what a criminal sees in the last moment before the Bat’s fist finds him. When he drops on one of Falcone’s goons in a dimly lit elevator, the big reveal is almost identical to the lone jump scare scene in 1979’sAlien. Marching unstoppably out of pitch-black hallways, lit only by the unreliable flashlights of his enemies, it’s far from the framing of the average action protagonist.
The new Batmobile is even more intriguing. The design of Wayne’s car doesn’t match the sleek elegance of Keaton’s, the toyetic appeal of Clooney’s, or the high-tech military feel of Bale’s. Pattinson’s Batmobile isn’t a tank, it’s a muscle car, clumsily outfitted with jet thrusters and hot rod tires. It only figures in one scene: the spectacular chase between Batman and the Penguin. Much of the film’s most bombastic scene is shotfrom Oswald Cobblepot’s rearviewmirror. The Batmobile is portrayed like a horror film monster in an entirely different way. There is some obvious inspiration from John Carpenter’sChristine, but the depiction of the car is haunting. It’s a monster on the road, barely visible eyes screaming through the foggy night as it knocks everything aside. It, too, feels indestructible. Regardless of fans' thoughts about the design, the Batmobile scene is stellar action-horror filmmaking.
Look also at the protracted club fight scene inThe Batman, compared to something like the nightclub scene inthe originalJohn Wick. Both are dimly lit sprints through packed areas, in which a single protagonist defeats dozens of armed foes. The difference is in how the camera views the hero.Wick’s camera is always locked to the title character; it enters the room as he does and stays glued to him at a respectable distance. It’s never hard to tell what’s going on. Wick’s movements are the focus, and the rare shots of the bad guys are typically only a moment. Meanwhile, Batman’s take is more frenetic, constantly cutting from one threat to the next. It’s very dark, and the Bat’s movements are unpredictable and dangerous. The viewer’s eye is regularly drawn away to the foes as they’re taken down. The focus is often on the terror in the bad guy’s eyes and the sharp catharsis of their sudden drop. The scenes communicate similar messages in different ways.Wickdemands the audience awe at the display of skill, whileThe Batmantells its audiencethat its hero is terrifying.
Not every shot of Batman sets him up as a walking nightmare, but the ones that do are incredibly successful.The Batmanis the best exampleof using framing techniques to make a hero as scary as the villain. It’s a unique and interesting take on the character that sticks with the viewer and remains hugely engaging throughout the film’s three-hour runtime.
MORE:The Batman Making Of Video Shows How Gotham City Was Created
