The Batman (2021)

[Mr_Simnock]

Watched it tonight, enjoyed it

[elliszeroed]

He did detective stuff in The Dark Knight, albeit with loads of high tech computer stuff, rather than his own wits.

Isn't one of the major clues a police officer saying "hey, that's a carpet remover, my dad or uncle used them!" and then Batman or The Batman using it to uproot some carpet, showing a map of The Riddlers plan?

As detectives go he's a notch above Frank Burly.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Tucker's luck.

[willbo]

anyone think the movie felt like a compilation of best parts from previous Batman movies at times?

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

It felt like Christopher Nolan turned up to the set of the Burton films.

[Replies From View]

Isn't one of the major clues a police officer saying "hey, that's a carpet remover, my dad or uncle used them!" and then Batman or The Batman using it to uproot some carpet, showing a map of The Riddlers plan?

As detectives go he's a notch above Frank Burly.

no you're thinking of a shake n vac advert

[Glebe]

no you're thinking of a shake n vac advert

"I'm vengeance (for stale household smells arising from carpet befoulment in the 1980's)!"

[Kelvin]

I honestly think I prefer Batman v Superman to this film. Obviously BvS was a complete mess, and downright embarrassing at points, but at least it had a handful of good scenes, some nice imagery, and some interesting ideas that were bungled by the execution. The Batman is clearly a better made film, but its so boring, drab and unoriginal. The only things I really liked were the opening scenes with everyone being scared of the shadows, and... it's probably the best batsuit?

[Glebe]

In non-Matt Reeves Bat-verse news:

'Batgirl' Won't Fly: Warner Bros. Discovery Has No Plans to Release Nearly Finished $90 Million Film.

So they're not even gonna release it on HBO Max? That's $90 down the drain and a waste of everyone's time.

[beanheadmcginty]

Is this like when Heinz say they're going to stop making salad cream due to poor sales, then everyone gets up in arms about it and says how much they love salad cream and sales go back up and Heinz keep on making salad cream?

[Mister Six]

In non-Matt Reeves Bat-verse news:

'Batgirl' Won't Fly: Warner Bros. Discovery Has No Plans to Release Nearly Finished $90 Million Film.

So they're not even gonna release it on HBO Max? That's $90 down the drain and a waste of everyone's time.

It does seem extraordinary. Apparently costs ballooned due to Covid but it was in post-production. I guess it depends how much was left to do, though. If there was a lot of CGI and such needed, then maybe it just seemed like throwing good money after bad. And I suppose to modern execs (especially the ones tightening belts after the disastrous WB mergers) films are just a bunch of spreadsheets that need to be balanced, and pushing Batgirl from the "under $100 million" Excel file to the "over $100 million" Excel file was a red line that must never be crossed for a straight-to-streaming flick.

Nothing much lost, though, culturally, I reckon. A naff-looking, streaming superhero movie that would have been forgotten in days, most likely. Just a shame that $90 million wasn't spent on, say, 18 low budget but unique and interesting films. But that was never going to happen, of course.

[BritishHobo]

Had no idea Keaton was returning as Batman for it. That seems like it would attract a fair bit of hype.

[PlanktonSideburns]

Is this like when Heinz say they're going to stop making salad cream due to poor sales, then everyone gets up in arms about it and says how much they love salad cream and sales go back up and Heinz keep on making salad cream?

No

This is about a bat girl

[Alberon]

Reports say using it as a tax write down was the most financially sensible move, especially after it apparently tested very badly with audiences.

[dissolute ocelot]

Bat-makers Warner Brothers was recently taken over by TV network Discovery (which largely funds GB News amongst many other hilariously bad investments). Discovery has reportedly slashed Warners' budgets for films (and selling films). There's probably also an element of "Let's sack the old Warners management, kill all the old projects that the old managers liked, and put in new managers!"

Whether this means better Bat-movies is uncertain. But I wouldn't get your hopes up.

[Replies From View]

Considering how bad Hollywood films can be without them worrying about releasing them, I doubt this comes down to quality.  Unless covid meant that there are too many static scenes of one person against a green screen that they expected to fix in post production before realising they couldn't. 

I just wish they'd thought ahead and sent the $90 million to me instead as pocket money.

[Alberon]

It's a low budget for a superhero film, but this was going to HBO Max rather than the theatres.

Maybe they felt a bad film wouldn't boost HBO Max in any way, could further damage the brand (though it's in a poor state as it is), they'd save on publicity and finishing the film and perhaps there's some tax dodge that means they save elsewhere by not releasing this one.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

The post production costs ballooned after everyone in the cast grew moustaches in lockdown.

[Blinder Data]

Pretty mental that they've just sacked it off. Surely it could make some money if they finished and released it quickly? Will we see a fan campaign, à la Snyder cut?

I'm pretty gutted about this. Not because I care about the film, really - I just wanted to see Glasgow on the big screen and play bingo with all the places I recognised.

I also wonder if Glasgow City Council will get its £150K back...

[Alberon]

It wasn't mentioned at comic-con so it's likely the plug was actually pulled a little while back. If it was being shown to test audiences it must be in a somewhat complete state so I wouldn't be too surprised if it, or bits of it, leaks at some point in the future.

I suppose they felt that writing it off completely saved more tax than would be gained in releasing it on HBO Max, but I don't understand the mechanics of it all.

[Replies From View]

I also wonder if Glasgow City Council will get its £150K back...

Bloody hell, that's outrageous.

Sincerely hope they get that back, with interest.

[Blinder Data]

Bloody hell, that's outrageous.

Sincerely hope they get that back, with interest.

If it's a legal fight between a beleaguered local authority and a giant Hollywood studio, I know who I'd back to win...

[Memorex MP3]

Def a tax write off and they'll probably still try and build some kind of Snyder cut style hype around it before releasing it in a year or two regardless

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Will we see a fan campaign, à la Snyder cut?

I expect the sort of people that would petition for a film's release are also the sort that will be rubbing their glans with glee about a female-led superhero film being scrapped.

[Alberon]

But they'd probably want to see Keaton as the Batman again.

[Bad Ambassador]

I wonder if there's any legal recourse for those involved to either force a release or get a big payout from the studio, as ScarJo did for Black Widow?

[Memorex MP3]

I expect the sort of people that would petition for a film's release are also the sort that will be rubbing their glans with glee about a female-led superhero film being scrapped.

I think the fact they've been told they can't see this will be enough to have a lot of them furious about not being allowed to see it.


Seeing as it must have been pretty close to completion itd be very surprising if a test screening version of it doesn't emerge within the next year or two though.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I wonder what will happen with The Flash now, that's due to co-star Michael Keaton as well, but Ezra Miller has been arrested twice and the parents of an 18 year old have accused him of grooming their son. What's actually going on I've no idea, but there was a story only yesterday that suggested WB "is still contending with what to do about The Flash," which has been "utterly hamstrung by repeated allegations of abuse and misconduct by its star, Ezra Miller." https://comicbookmovie.com/the_flash/the-flash-wb-said-to-be-still-contending-with-what-to-do-with-the-movie-following-ezra-miller-allegations-a195092

[Replies From View]

After Bat Girl are there any DC characters left to explore?  Maybe they've buried it because they are sad that it will all be finished.

[Bad Ambassador]

Condiment King